#lor the road home

[ruinaimagines]

hihihi!! good to see you writing for this blog again!! hope you're doing well!! can I have road home platonic hcs w/their favorite agent? thank you!!! -🦷 anon

HELLO! I’ve finally gotten to this and here they are! It's great to see you again and hope you enjoy.

The Road Home w/ Their Favorite Agent Headcanons:

The Road Home is quite a joyous individual with those they find trustworthy and friendly! This is only expanded even further if you’re their favorite agent, after all you’re someone who must love adventure and friends as much as they do.

Will speak of their friends happily, wanting you to meet them and join the group, insisting that you would fit right on in. A lot of the people in the facility are so unfriendly or stoic, it makes them feel lonely or unwelcome, but you’re different in that you will listen to their optimistic rambling and entertain their thoughts.

They’re surprisingly pretty easy to deal with if you ignore the times they’ve breached and dropped houses on people, they don’t really hold any kind of ill intent and really just want to go home which is.. Relatable.

Will happily tell you the stories of their journey, how they’ve met the others, and nag at you to come with. It’s quite nice in contrast to the usual gloom and sad energy of the facility where it seems as though hopeful thinking is so easy to snuff out. Whether or not you genuinely think going with them could become a reality it still stands as a bonding point.

Even though they are much more child-like, and their stories fantastical, there are many parts you find mirroring your day-to-day life. Abnormalities are based on human desires and experiences after all.. So it’s not too surprising but still.

When they aren’t getting carried away in their own stories they will ask you a lot of questions about where you came from and such. Depending on your upbringing some of these can unintentionally dive into some more darker aspects of your past you might want to try and tiptoe around, but you know that’s not their intention.

Stares at you with literal stars in their eyes, an expression of awe on their face as you describe the most mundane of tasks you do. It could be cleaning the dishes and they would think you’re so cool, looking up to you like you’re an older sibling.

If there are other members of their little group within the same place you work at you’ll notice that they become a lot less aggressive towards you, likely because of the Road Home’s explanation. How this actually occurred though is a bit more of another question considering management doesn’t really like letting them get together like that.. A tad concerning but hey! That’s a problem from another time.

You’ve been assigned to work with them top priority over anyone else, and this is because you’ve adapted and learned a way to talk them out of more.. Dangerous breaches. Of course they’re a bit upset over the wrench in their plans to leave, but they also don’t wish harm upon people which their actions might end up doing. If you promise to help them find a more peaceful way then they may be more obligated to bide their time for now instead of breaking out.

Their short form will circle around you, occasionally ducking and hiding behind your legs whenever they see something intimidating, believing that you will protect them. And let’s be truthful, you will.

Sometimes they get stuck in places and struggle to get out because they don’t really have arms. This doesn’t happen a lot because they know how to maneuver, it’s been that way their whole life after all, but there are moments where you need to pull them out of wherever they’ve trapped themself in. They’re a curious being so that’s also a reason this happens a bit more frequently than it should.

They occasionally talk about the wizard who took her friends and much more, a tearful look in their big eyes as they recall the events. It very easily can activate overprotectiveness in you because no one wants to see them sad.

You have to assure them that whoever this ‘mean wizard lady’ is, there is no reason to worry about her getting to you. Might additionally need to explain that when you can’t always visit them it’s because work is holding you up, not because you are in danger (even though that one is a bit of a lie).

Takes some convincing but through their sniffling they will eventually nod their head. Through their descriptions though you can’t help but wonder if this ‘wizard’ they’re describing is more of an embodiment of Lobotomy Corporation with separating their friends and preventing them from going home.. It’s truly unfortunate that they aren’t able to be in better living conditions than this containment cell.

They don’t blame you by any means but the Road Home does not like your job and the things they make you do. They’ve seen the way some of the other abnormalities act, dubbing them as ‘mean people you shouldn’t have to deal with’. 

At times you have to explain that you’re a bit restricted in what you can and can not do, and this confuses them a little bit. Why can’t you have freedom to leave whenever? Why do you have to be stuck here? Why do those people put you in harmful situations? It’s a nuanced topic but that’s a bit hard to explain to what’s basically a child.

This makes them all the more determined to take you with them, a place where you and their other friends can all have fun and celebrate! They reason that as long as you all stick together that you can get through anything, and that includes this mean corporation making you do tough stuff. 

Will do their absolute best to cheer you up if they’ve noticed you’re sad, and just their attempts seem to help. They’re a lot more in tune to emotion than some might take them for, they just don’t always know what to do about it. So whether it’s complimenting you or initiating some kind of play, the thought of their concern can drag you out of poor moods.

[literallys-illiteracy]

i am 90% sure that the next Walpurgis EGO is going to be Alriune.

We have the first Abnormality of Yesod's floor, (1st Walpurgis EGO) The second abnormality of Hod's Floor, (2/3rd Walpurgis EGO) And the third abnormality of Malkuth's Floor. (2/3rd Walpurgis EGO)

the only Asiyah floor we don't have yet is Netzach, and we have the Abnormalities from 1-3 for the floors we do have, so Alriune as the fourth released EGO, as the fourth Abnormality on the floor, and as the fourth floor in LoR.

also if I'm correct then it means we probably get Nihil as an EGO for Tiphereth's floor, either that or it resets to 1 for the middle floors meaning:

Queen of Hatred

Big and Will be Bad Wolf

Road Home//Scaredy cat

in all likelihood I am completely wrong on all counts and am just overanalysing this... (Lob Corp EGO ID and Yujin ID next Walpurgis is my guess)

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls: 3x8 Let The Games Begin (Aka Let The ShitCircus Begin) (Send In The Clowns) (Send Help) (Part 1)

You can read my thoughts on all previous episodes in my Pinned Post. Ladies and Gentlemens, do you know what time it is? it is officially Literati Kickoff Time.

To get everyone up to speed, in the last episode, Rory recieved a Public Dumping for the Ages, Dean has stepped down as Rory's Primary Male Life Ruiner and handed that crown to Jess, Shane has been eviscerated into a bloody pulp, Lorelai and Luke both missed the showdown at the DM and so Lorelai learned about this tea off-screen sometime between the last episode and this one. It's yet unclear whether Lorelai learned what happened through second hand gossip or if Rory dusted off her Season 1 Balls of Steel and had the courage to inform her mother that Dean was out and Jess was in. Episode Opener: we see Rory and Lorelai walking through town shortly after the dance marathon, complaining about their sleep deprivation and achy feet. ("At least you bitches still have your feet," says Shane's dismembered ghost, looking down at her new webbed swan feet).

What is this shirt? It looks like an octopus ejaculated on this shirt.

Hey baby hey baby hey! J: Hi R:Hey J:Hi Lor: Hi (Who told you you could speak? Butt out, bish) Luke: Hi Jess: Hi R: I have to get to school. J: Me too. R:Bye J:Bye. Bye. Lorelai: Bye (bish, I swear...) R: Bye Luke: Bye Jess: Disappears

Only THE CUTEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED?! That was so cute, they should be immortalized into a pair of Precious Moments figurines. The little plaque on the figurine would be titled "Idiots In Love." So naturally, a certain Grinch in a lavendar blouse has a problem with this and it only further reassures her that Jess is nothing more than A Sex Criminal (who would never murder anyone).

Yay. Lorelai and I are both crying on the inside over this development, but for vastly different reasons. Anyway, look at her hanging her head! This bish is in mourning! Look at how depressed this bish is! Hahaha! Get SAD, BISH! I WILL LICK YOUR SALTY, SALTY TEARS! Ahem. I haven't seen such a somber delivery since the medical examiner delivered the news to Shane's parents that he had positively identifed her mutilated corpse.

Who will visit my home and sift through my panty drawer now? Luke: What happened? Lorelai, somber as a funeral director: Jess happened. Luke, uncharacteristically giddy with excitement: Wow! WOW! This is great! Wow! Rory and Jess! Jess and Rory! This is great! Don't you think this is great! Honestly Luke and Lorelai reflect both sides of my conflicting feelings about the Literati Shit-Circus. Lor: "I'll tell Dean you said that." I'm sure you will before the next time you gargle his dick. I think it's the next episode where Lorelai tells Dean, "Just because you and Rory broke up doesn't mean we did." #Sick

MOMMY FAIL! Rory is 18. She's a fucking adult so leave her alone. Anyway, what does that mean? I think it's code for "It's about time Rory dated a boy who knows how to remove a bra.' Luke: I know Jess is tough (LOL, yeah, he's a real toughie, just look at that last exchange) but he likes Rory and Rory's a good kid. Her good will rub off on him.

You are so full of baloney. You're a Baloney Superstore. You are the Walmart of Baloney. Oh, this episode contains multitudes. Lorelai is insufferable on not just one but two fronts. Heavens to betsy. This is the episode where she has a shit-fit over Richard taking Rory to interview at Yale. One of the most ridiculous Lorelai tantrums I can ever recall, at least in the earlier seasons. Maybe not as insane as "I'd rather my child and I be homeless than accept a loan from my mother to save my termite infested house" but it's up there in the top 5 for me.

I am so brave. Ar FND, Richard invites Rory to embark on said Road Trip to Yale, which shouldn't be a big deal for a child with any other mother besides Lorelai Gilmore, but this is Rory so she is shaking lke a flu stricken chihuaua at the thought of her mother finding out she would ever deign to visit a school endorsed by her grandparents. She reluctantly accepts, then quietly pees her pants.

God speed, girlypop.

Fun with Product Placement time: Rory went to fetch a soda from the kitchen, and my immediate thought was: "These rich bitches better have name brand Coca Cola in their fridge, and not that odd Hansen's soda that Rory is always drinking", and they do. A real honest to god prominently labeled Coke can. Girlypop here is feeling the heavy weight of possibly displeasing her mother in both her romantic and academic choices. She has a lot on her plate right now. While the car is parked in the Gilmore Grands driveway after FND, girly pop musters up the courage to tell Lorelai "Grandpa wants us to go on a road trip to Yale" which causes Lorelai to huff and immediately exit the car. She begins storming back into the house, intent on demanding that her father explain this unbelievably callous and cruel attempt to brainwash her daughter into considering another school besides Harvvard. Rory stops her at the porch. where a lengthy argument ensues. Rory has to (once again) dig in her heels to defend her position against Lorelai over something so STUPID. I am really sitting here watching Lorelai and Rory go back and forth forever just because (ADULT) Rory wants to visit a college campus at the invitation of her own grandfather. Lorelai even calls Richard a "master manipulator" for this evil plot. You know what Rory, stop asking Lorelai for her input. Since you don't have a car, just hop on a bus to New Haven and just fucking go. After comparing the city of New Haven to leftover sludge at the bottom of a coffee pot, Lorelai decides she's going to accompany Rory on the trip anyway, even though its been made quite clear she does not have to go (just like the Sherry Baby Shower). In both instances, Lorelai's presence will ruin everything. Per @frazzledsoul: "Lorelai is so spoiled here. Imagine being a parent of a teenager and your worst problem is what Ivy League school your kid goes to." Amen. The rest of this episode promises to be a complete shitshow of epic proportions. At least the next episode is "Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving", one of the best.

[icedragonlizard]

The extended friend group of Wave 3 + Marx + Mage Sisters

As I've made some headcanon updates, I now have all 7 of these people being friends with one another. This entire group has sleepovers and slumber parties, with the Lor Starcutter being a common spot for those parties as arranged by Magolor.

This is, like, the world's most unhinged friend group if I'm being real.

Here are some details to this friend group:

-Marx and Magolor are best friends. Taranza and Susie are best friends.

-Francisca is the favorite mage sister for both Marx and Susie. Marx because he's impressed by how twisted she is, and Susie because she and Francisca bonded over being cold & cutesy.

-Flamberge is the favorite mage sister for Magolor. He really likes talkative and energetic she is. These two enjoy competing in rap battles. They also give each other noogies.

-Zan Partizanne is the favorite mage sister for Taranza, as they came together over both being especially devoted to the people they've served. They also like each other's bowl-cut hairstyles.

-There are a lot of "cain instinct" relationships in this group. They're all friends, but many of them love to give each other crap for enrichment. Marx and Taranza love to beat each other up in a friendly way. Susie gets into bickering matches with both Marx and Magolor. Zan gets into unhinged nickname wars with Susie, Magolor, Marx and even her sister Flamberge. Flamberge is a big teaser, as she likes to tease Zan, Susie and Taranza and can spark silly light-hearted arguments. Shoutout to Francisca for being pretty chill and quiet, and not really getting into arguments with the others here LOL.

There are tons of pillow fights in their sleepovers.

-All 7 of these people enjoy mischief to various extents. There are a lot of chaotic duos/trios/quartets/whatever among this group. Marx and Magolor are sure to cause hijinks with any of the mage sisters. Susie as well, especially when doing so with Francisca as one should be nervous of those two women giggling cutely when causing hijinks. Taranza may be the most restrained out of these 7 in terms of mischief, but he won't hesitate to sometimes team up with one of them to cause hijinks, especially with Susie, Magolor or Zan.

-The main spots for this group's hangouts include Magolor's home inside the Lor (most common one), Taranza's home in Royal Road, Susie's home in the Haltmann Works Company headquarters out somewhere in the cosmos, and the mage sisters' home in the Jambandran Base also out somewhere in the cosmos. Marx is a homeless idiot as he just goes around LOL.

-Magolor's theme park of Merry Magoland has been promoted by the other 6 people in this friend group in various ways. And they're all popular among the park's usual waddle dee attendants.

-This friend group acts as a support system for both Taranza and Susie, since they both... uh... could use it. Even despite all the playful cain instinct dynamics, everyone else in the group cares about them deep down and give them needed support. Of course Kirby is an extra part of their support system, too, but this friend group in particular is very helpful to them.

I love this crazy wild friend group lol.

[kivaember]

got inspired to write some viv621 involving flowers so here ya go! post-LoR with Rusty Lives because in my mind he never dies uwu

-

In the months after the fall of the Xylem and the retreat of corporate forces and the PCA both, the Rubiconians began to piece together their lives. Staking out a city to rebuild slowly, to gather themselves and their forces in preparation for when the corporations returned... it was a lot of hard work, admittedly, and some days Rusty felt more exhausted than when he was pretending to be a bootlicking corporate merc, but the sheer happiness and satisfaction he felt was beyond words.

It helped that he got to step into this brave new world of freedom side-by-side with Raven. It quickly became apparent to everyone in the Liberation Front that Raven had no idea how to live independently, and with Rusty already having a rapport with him, it was decided that Raven would shadow him both on missions and in his daily life. They fought together, they did chores together, had meals together... they even slept together - chastedly!

Well, mostly.

The line between platonic and romantic blurred at some point, but Rusty was hesitant to fully step over that line while Raven was still figuring himself out. Even though it had been months... Rusty knew Raven was still raw over losing Walter, at having the unthinking stability of being a leashed hound cut out from under him. As a result, Raven clung to Rusty like a drowning man at sea would to flotsam, the only person he knew and somewhat trusted in his life who he was willing to take orders from, and while it was flattering...

Well, if Rusty was going to sleep with someone, he'd rather have there be no ambiguity in how willing it was, for his own peace of mind.

Anyway, they were essentially living out of each other's pockets. They even lived together, in one of the few apartment complexes that had been refurbished in the new city they were rebuilding. It was drafty and cold, but it was theirs, and Rusty enjoyed every morning where the sunrise would spill through their window, lighting the room up in streaks of golds and pinks and reminding him that it was yet another day of a free Rubicon.

That morning was no different. Rusty woke up to the sound of heavy transporters trundling past the building, their engines growling loud enough to wake the dead, and the dawn's light filtering through the window. Raven had been displeased at the early wake up call, grumbling and huffing, but Rusty had managed to prod him out of bed and to freshen up in time for their morning routine.

Now, while the apartment was refurbished, it still wasn't fully functional. There wasn't any central heating, the water wasn't potable and the electricity only worked during certain hours of the day. With the city's electric grid still being rebuilt and the attached subterranean Coral generator being brought back online, most things like food, potable water and a warm place to stay was centralised in the city hall to be easily accessible.

So that's where they went for breakfast.

"That clothes shipment might be in today, so we'll see if your thermals have finally arrived. You'll be a lot warmer then, huh, buddy?" Rusty chattered as he and Raven stepped out of the apartment complex. A thin layer of snow crunched underfoot, and the street was quiet but not empty. The road had deep tracks dug through it from those transporters, and a few people were striding past, a destination clearly in mind. Raven paid little mind to all of this, keeping his gaze fixed on his feet as he hundled in his thick jacket, half his face hidden behind his scarf.

While the air was certainly brisk and chilly to Rusty, Raven always acted as if he was stepping out into the polar regions. It was a little charming, in a cute kind of way, but Rusty was also aware that Rubicon's invasive chill just didn't agree with him. If Rubicon was to become Raven's home then, well, some compromises needed to be made.

Hence the thermals order. Though, it was less they had purchased it from there and more directing their scavengers to keep an eye out for them amongst the various supply depots the PCA and the Corps had abandoned during their flight from the planet.

"The PCA bases had a lot of supplies for us to claim... I'm surprised they didn't take any of it when they left the planet," Rusty mused. Talking to Raven was like talking to himself a lot of the time, but he didn't mind it. He found it strangely easy and freeing, being able to ramble without having to constantly judge or anticipate a response and how to react to it, manipulating the flow of conversation and plastering on an affable, inoffensive mask. Some things just couldn't be unlearned quickly when you spent a literal decade as a spy.

They stopped at a crossroads. There wasn't any true vehicle traffic - only the heavy duty transporters were up and running with any regularity, and you could see (and hear) those coming a mile away. On occasion there was a Pillbug (an armoured MRAP that was common road transport on Rubicon), but they rarely drove within the residential areas of this battered city. The roads were still a little fucked in places.

"Hey, let's take the scenic route," Rusty suggested. "It's still early."

Raven made a vague humming noise, but followed when Rusty veered away from the direct route to the city hall. This road swept past what must've been a city park back in the day, the area flat and devoid of any building ruins or the like. It also lacked plant life, except for the odd stubborn tree, skeletal and coated in a thick layer of frost.

It'd probably take another fifty years for that park to recover back to its old glory - whatever that had looked like. Rusty had only ever known Rubicon to be harsh and barren, all sharp-edges that would cut and a cold that seeped in through the cracks no matter how warmly you dressed. Imagining a green Rubicon... it just didn't compute in his mind.

Maybe it'd be like how New London looked back on Earth... but those parks had looked uncomfortably artificial, cultivated by a wasteful use of fresh water, all perfectly levelled grass and trimmed hedges, symmetrical in a way nature never was. If this park was to regrow, Rusty hoped it'd do so in a wild way and stay like that. He wanted to know... what a rewilded Rubicon looked like...

He hadn't realised he'd stopped until he felt a tug on his sleeve. Raven peered up at him in mild concern, a silent question in his eyes.

"...just thinking," Rusty said with a smile. "You ever seen a park before, buddy?"

Raven, as always, considered this off-hand question very intently. After a moment's pause, he nodded very slowly, his gaze drifting over the barren stretch of snow that smothered the old park.

"I've only seen the ones on Earth. They were pretty, but they looked fake too." Rusty rubbed the back of his neck. "I wonder how this would grow back, if it ever does..."

Rubicon's ecosystem was beyond saving - at least, it could never return to what it had been. Uncle had said Rubicon had been covered in lush grasslands and rainforests before the Fires, a veritable Garden of Eden where fertile land was never lacking. Even the Belius southern deserts and the Enlil ice fields had been teeming with life. Now, the planet was a husk of itself, its once fertile lands scorched and choked beneath ash and ice, and the majority of flora and fauna rendered extinct.

Unless the Institute had kept viable genetic material for the fauna and seeds for the flora in some heavily reinforced bunker somewhere, the revitalised Rubicon would be a completely different beast to its past self. Rusty wasn't sure how to feel about it, personally. Uncle felt sad about it, he knew, but Rusty had never known the old Rubicon, he only knew this one, and thinking about it changing made him uneasy in a way he couldn't quite put into words.

Raven nudged him, and when Rusty glanced over at him, stirred from his thoughts, he saw his friend sign - clumsily, because he still wasn't used to it and his gloves were very thick; 'Flower.'

"...flower? Oh. Flowers," Rusty chuckled. "I don't think a flower's bloomed on Rubicon in half a century, buddy. You'd think all the seeds for 'em died off by now."

Raven gave him a long, searching look. He didn't elaborate, though. Instead he simply turned and clambered over the rickety, half-collapsed fence that surrounded the dead park.

"Wha- hey, Raven! Careful..."

Raven ignored him. Sighing, Rusty climbed over the fence and followed him, the ashy snow crunching loudly. He could see faint imprints of older footprints, likely people cutting across the park to get to other areas faster. Raven veered away from those faint imprints though, towards the base of a lone, skeletal tree whose skinny branches were weighed down with a myriad of fat leaves that ranged from pale pink to stark, angry red. It's trunk was a weird blend of wood and stone, where dull red crystals jutted out from between old cracks in the bark; crimson amber that always felt hot to the touch.

Coral trees, they were called for lack of anything else. They had sprung up after the Fires, and Rusty remembered his home village being surrounded by these. Their branches burned well, and the children would prise off those crystals to use as pocket warmers, where they would emit heat for weeks until dulling grey and becoming inert. The only danger to them was that they were highly volatile, and a lightning strike could turn them into bombs of all things.

Raven gently touched one of the protruding crystals, his expression contemplative.

"You can take some, if you want. They make good pocket warmers," Rusty suggested, and laughed at the dubious look Raven gave him. "They're Coral deposits, if you can believe it. Y'know, we're lucky that the Corps didn't decide to deforest Rubicon while they were at it. Guess the amount of Coral in these trees are negligible..."

Raven looked back at the tree but didn't take any of the crystals. He crouched down instead, slowly, using the tree for balance until he was on his knees and poking around the roots. There was a thin layer of dead leaves coating the tree's base, slick and half-frozen - the closest thing it'd get to fertiliser.

Rusty was bemused but didn't stop him. It was rare for Raven to go off and do his own thing, and even if Rusty didn't understand his actions half the time, he wanted to encourage that independence. He just kept an eye on him, standing in the shade of that tree, feeling the warmth radiate from it, and wondered if it'd be possible to get a cutting and grow a sapling from it. Maybe the apartment would be warmer if they made a mini-Coral tree? It wasn't likely to get struck by lightning, so it's bomb status wasn't really an issue...

Raven made a noise, and Rusty looked to see his friend triumphantly pointing at something amongst the roots. Tiny, little shoots were pushing from the black soil, springy and green and definitely not the scrubby grass that stubbornly survived across Rubicon. Rusty crouched down and tilted his head, surprised but confused.

"...probably some kind of grass," he said. "That's all that grows round here."

Raven gave him a very disappointed look, and signed with far more confidence this time: 'flower'.

"Hah, you think so?" Rusty smiled, finding the thought nice but unrealistic. His gaze wandered back to those springy green shoots, though. They were vibrantly alive in a way most things on Rubicon weren't. The Coral trees, the grass, the shrubs... they survived but they never thrived, always half-wilting or drooping, but these...

"How about a bet, then?" Rusty found himself murmuring. "You bet it's a flower, and I bet it's just more grass."

Raven tilted his head. 'Gift?'

Gift? Oh, he must mean- "Hmm, I dunno. Loser has to fulfil whatever favour the winner asks - within reason, of course."

Raven considered this intently, but nodded. He was smiling slightly, a rare sight, and his eyes glittered with confidence. His friend was certain of his victory already.

And...

And a part of Rusty hoped he was right. That this would grow into a wildflower, sprouting through the ashy snow decades after the world died. Maybe it'd be something like these Coral trees, something new and alien, or maybe it'd be something old... Rusty didn't know. He'd have to wait and see.

He did a lot of that nowadays: waiting and seeing, watching his home slowly pick itself out of the grave.

"C'mon, buddy." Rusty stood up and held out his hand. "Let's leave this to grow in peace."

Raven nodded and gently re-covered the sprouts with the protective layer of decaying leaves. After a gentle pat he peered up at the tree, some unreadable emotion flickering through his eyes, before he reached up and took Rusty's hand.

-

A few weeks later, the springy green sprouts bloomed into a beautiful carpet of scarlet flowers.

[magoranzz]

Prompt: Snowed In

61. snowed in

requested by: ironforest4

It was snowing outside

road, trails, tress, were covered in snow, everything!

in the Lor Starcutter, Magolor and Taranza are inside. Magolor had beanbags in the guest bedroom in the hallway, so they both went in there and sat down on them.

"Magolor, when do you think this snowstorm is gonna stop?" Taranza was worried, he has to go back home soon in 1 hour.

"I checked the weather, it says it will go on all night, then it will stop somewhere at 5 AM."

Taranza groans, thinking about what he should do for the rest of the night. he get's up and tells Magolor of what they should do.

"maybe... um, we could bake or do board games?"

but out of nowhere the lights go out, Taranza does a little squeak and grabs Magolor for safety. Taranza got a little scared and accidentally got very close to Magolor, and their faces almost touching. Taranza couldn't see in the dark, but Magolor could see well and has night vision.

"uhh Taranza, I think you're a little too close."

"o-oh, sorry, I got scared." he get's off of Magolor, and Ranz is now twiddling his thumbs of how embarrassed he is, but Magolor looked at him, he kinda looked cute.

"well, I think I'll make some hot chocolate, and make some soup for myself."

"but Mags you can't see in the dark! or you say that you aren't a cat..." Taranza does a little giggle, but Magolor doesn't really mind of what he just said.

"Taranza, I am a cat- but you better not tell anyone. I'm telling you this cause I trust you alright?"

"oh, uh OK."

welp there's that. he said he's a cat, but that's not what we're really focusing right now.

Magolor goes to the kitchen and opens the top cabinet in the left, packets of cocoa were at the bottom shelf, he grabbed them and got a mug to put hot water in. Mags turned on the sink and poured the hot water in there, then the packet, and stirred it with a spoon for a minute.

"MAGOLOR!"

Magolor almost dropped the mug of how shocked he was, so he rushed to the room where Taranza was at.

when he got there...

Taranza was just scared, since he didn't really like the dark or the sounds from outside.

"Taranza! you scared me, I thought something bad happened, you need to tone it down." he sets down the mug by Taranza.

"sorry... I don't like being left alone, I didn't mean to s-scare you." Taranza feels bad, he felt guilty, and Magolor could see him starting to cry.

"hey please don't cry! I always care for you, that's why I came over to check if you were OK. I'm sorry that I kinda yelled at you." he hugs Taranza to calm him down, then he hugs back Magolor.

"it's just really hard being alone, I'm still not used to sectonia being gone... s-she was special."

"she is special, and you know she loves you alot, a mountain load of it, so does everyone. she is here."

Magolor puts his hand on Taranza's chest to indicate where sectoniais, and since Taranza didn't see that coming, he immediately blushed.

"ah, thanks... I really needed that Magolor, now I know that you understand. I really mean it!"

...Magolor didn't take off Taranza's chest, Ranz was warm and small.

"um, your hand is still on me."

"OH, my mistake..." Magolor lifts his hand off of him, and pretends it never happened.

"right, here's your hot chocolate."

"thanks!" Taranza nicely takes the mug and drinks it, and tells Magolor it tastes good.

later, Magolor had his soup, and Taranza was done with his hot chocolate. Magolor and Taranza didn't know what time it was, so they admitted it was somewhere 9 or 10 PM

it was still a blizzard outside, but Taranza was tough with Magolor, and wasn't scared of it.

"hey, Magolor are we gonna sleep here or on the bed?"

Taranza liked the bed, and Magolor liked the beanbags, but Taranza knew that his friend liked the beanbags (since he kept seeing Magolor fall asleep on them instead of beds.)

"I like the bed, but I also like the beanbags more-"

"I'll sleep on the beanbags Magolor." Taranza literally didn't even hesitate, but Mags just went with it and grabed the blankets from the bed for warmth.

they push their beanbags together and put the big blanket over them, then Magolor's eyelids started getting heavy, until he felt Taranza's hands hug him.

two wizards in a guest bedroom laying on beanbags while there's a snowstorm, and one of them is having a gay panic. Magolor's heart is racing, Taranza is hugging him while sleeping. but tried to ignore it so then he would go to sleep, soon Magolor dozed off.

...

it's morning

Taranza was the first one to wake up, and saw Magolor's face by his. he quickly moved away and blood quickly came to his face.

but Taranza looked at Magolor's face one more time, it was really cute. he was laying there all tired and calm. when Taranza was getting ready to go outside, the door opened with snow falling on him, THAT woke him up.

Magolor woke up, Taranza was not there with him, so he went around the Lor to find him. only to see Taranza covered in snow

Magolor laughs with tears coming out of his eyes, Taranza looked like a powered donut.

"hey it's not funny!"

"ha... OK fine that was a little mean, pft."

"I heard that"

"alright I'll help you brush it off." Magolor brushes the snow off of Taranza's hair and cloak. that really made Taranza flustered.

"I-I think I can do it myself Mags..." Magolor wipes some snow off of Taranza's face, Magolor quickly looked away by the eye contact that they did.

soon they got ready for the day, and had pancakes for breakfast. Magolor gripped on the handle and drove the Lor all the way up to Royal Road in Floralia. Taranza was in the back watching Magolor's cool driving skills, but shakes his head and starts walking out the door.

"it was a great day yesterday, talking and having hot chocolate was the best! thank you alot Magolor, it was nice hanging out with you."

"glad you had fun! if you're having a hard time, you can ask for help, including me. well see you soon!"

"bye Magolor!"

the Lor flies off, Taranza was on the Dreamstalk's leaf by the Royal Road, and closed his eyes.

"someday Magolor, someday..."

Taranza quickly got to his castle before freezing

[rainykthebroken]

Magoranza Home Poll

Seriously, it's a question I keep asking myself:

If you want you can give your reasoning!

[lonelyfanboy48]

Loud House Shotgun Cannonball To Black Flag Circuit Chapters 3 & 4

Chapter 3 Celebration License Wreck

Luna and the group returned back home after heading to King Cars. However unlike last time, Lori and Lana won’t be the only ones to celebrate her sister, despite doing that earlier. Luna parked Vanzilla in the driveway again as she and the others got out.

“Team Luna and Lana, here we come!” Lana cheered with Luna getting her car key out.

“Don’t forget my girlfriend’s part of the team, along with our crew chief.” Luna turned to Lori.

“You’re getting way too excited over this.” Sam replied. “You haven't even told your parents about this.”

“We’re not gonna avoid this one. It’s best if we tell them since no one’s gonna miss that you have your driver’s license.” Lori spoked.

“We’re only keeping this between the four of us. And Hops.” Luna walked up to the front door. “Once this whole thing is done with, I’m going back to regular driving, only with a motorcycle on the road.”

As Luna unlocked the front door, she and the group entered inside with confetti blown out of nowhere, flying onto Luna. “SURPRISE!” The Loud family popped out from the sofa behind with a sign appearing from the celine, called, Luna’s Driver License Celebration.

“Congratulations Luna!” Lynn Sr. and Rita cheered.

“Spoke too soon.” Lori bit her lip.

“Excitement to rage coming.” Sam added.

“We’re so proud of you that you finally got your driver’s license.” Rita smiled. “Starting tomorrow, we’re gonna have you drive on the road with all of us inside Vanzilla.”

“To celebrate you getting your driver’s license!” Lola cheered.

“And we pick the best places you love, Luna.” Lynn Sr. wrapped his arm around her.

“Don’t worry, we have a map to have you see where you’re going on the road.” Leni added. “I’ve used those a lot.”

While Luna appreciated the celebration, she’s still making sure she doesn’t have her family get involved. “Thanks dudes, tomorrow will be a great day for all of us.”

“We have food set up on the kitchen table.” Luan pointed as she took her sister to the kitchen table.

“Lana, you were so impatient, you wanted Luna to take you for a ride today?” Rita asked.

“It was more than that.” Lana answered. “We stopped at King Cars.”

“To help Luna find the car she wants?” Lincoln asked.

Both Lori and Sam looked at each other while giving them the answer. “It’s too early to think about it, don’t you think?” Lori asked. “I mean I couldn’t get my car there, so it’s just the first of many car shops out there.”

“Lori, it’s fine if she’s going out to find a car to her liking, it’s just a matter of the right car for her.” Lynn Sr. smiled.

“That is…if she prefers an open door car without windows.” Sam crossed her arms while looking away.

“Aren’t you proud of her though?”

“I am.” She looked back. “But…it wasn’t the reason we went to King Cars.”

In the dining room, Luna picked out her favorite foods from the kitchen table all the while she saw her parents talking to Lana, Lori, and Sam. She then headed straight to the kitchen with Leni, Luan, and Lynn Jr. following her.

“Where are you going? Shouldn’t you be celebrating that you got your driver’s license?” Lynn Jr. eating a hamburger.

“Out into the living room?” Luan added.

“I will, I’m just thinking about my plans since I got my driver’s license.” Luna said, eating her food.

“Sweet.” Leni smiled. “What are your plans exactly?”

Luna took a deep breath while trying her best to prevent her secret from being exposed. “It’s mainly a private driving experience.”

“Sis, your driving test is like a private driving experience.” Lynn Jr. followed on. “You got nothing to worry about.”

“Aside from avoiding getting tickets by following the rules.” Leni commented which caused Luna to flinch. “What? Did you get your first ticket?”

“I didn’t.” Luna replied.

“Then what’s the problem?” Luan asked.

“The problem is, you get newer goals after getting your driver’s license. Complicated goals you’re not ready for.”

“She isn’t wrong.” Leni added. “Lori may have overcome goals, but it was luck that helped her.”

“Yeah, luck when you don’t speed and nearly crash into buildings and trees.” Lynn Jr. remembers the times Leni drove her and the others to places.

“Luna, we know you’re not gonna be reckless.” Luan smiled. “You’re hardcore at playing guitar and instruments, but that’s nowhere near as dangerous as driving a car.”

Luna felt pleased from her sister's gesture. “Thanks Luan, but the goals I have makes me slightly nervous. I want to keep to myself.” Just when she’s about to leave the kitchen, she stops herself with Lynn Sr. and Rita standing in front of her, crossing their arms with serious looks on their faces.

“More like extremely nervous.” Rita replied.

“Luna.” Lynn Sr. added. “What’s going on?”

Luna looked behind her parents with Lana, Lori, and Sam’s heads lowered in shame. Rita then showed Luna the contract she took from Lana, who kept it after leaving King Cars. “What is this?”

“Uhhh…” Luna reacted.

“We can wait all night, you’re not leaving this kitchen.”

Leni, Luan, and Lynn Jr. looked straight at the contract itself. “It looks like a racing competition.” Luan said.

“With Bobble Fletcher racing.” Lynn Jr. added.

“Lana! Stand next to Luna!” Rita turned back as Lana followed her orders. “Explain this!”

Both Luna and Lana sighed, with them being caught red handed, not even two hours since Luna got her license. “There’s a race called The Royal Woods Raceway in two weeks.” Lana answered.

“And we, Lori and Sam entered because…” Luna couldn’t finish her sentence knowing her parents won’t like it.

“Because?” Lynn Sr. placed his hands on his hips.

“Because there’s a motorcycle I really, REALLY want!”

Both Lynn Sr. and Rita groan in frustration while the rest of the Loud siblings hear everything Luna and Lana confess. “No, not gonna happen!” Rita shouted.

“You two are not entering The Royal Woods Raceway!” Lynn Sr. added.

“Mom, Dad!” Lana replied.

“Lana, we don’t want you and Luna to get hurt!”

“Especially Lori and Sam.” Rita pointed at them.

“Technically I’m their crew chief so-” Lori chimed in.

“Stay out of this, you're not in trouble.”

“Tomorrow we’re going back to King Cars to take you off the race.” Lynn Sr. informed.

“But this is the only way I’m ever going to get a motorcycle.” Luna cried.

“You’re never getting a motorcycle Luna, It wasn’t easy for us to get our driver’s license.” Rita replied.

“But Mom-”

“I don’t want to hear it!”

“You two go upstairs in your rooms, the celebration’s over!” Lynn Sr. ordered. Luna and Lana head straight upstairs as Lynn Sr. takes Luna’s food from her. “You should at least be thankful we’re not taking your license away after just getting it.”

Luna stopped just before she turned to her bedroom door. “I didn’t even get a ticket.” She spoke as she turned around. “The race prevents racers from breaking the law.”

“As in, racing without losing your driver’s license, nor giving you non stop speeding tickets.” Lana popped her head only for her and Luna to head straight to their bedrooms. Lynn Sr. and Rita looked at the contract together. They’re beyond disappointed in Luna and Lana, but they did it for the best, even though it ended up ending the celebration when it just started.

However everyone around thought otherwise, after hearing about the race itself. “Mom, Dad.” Lori walked up to them. “I’m not on board with this, but what else can they do?”

“Lana may get over excited, but it’s her only chance to race against Bobbie Fletcher.” Sam added.

“We know she wants to race against her, our biggest problem is Luna.” Rita crossed her arms. “I wouldn’t enter a race competition even if there’s a prize I really want.”

“We just don’t want her to lose all of that hard work she earned after getting her license.” Lynn Sr. added.

The parents made their way into their bedroom while still holding onto the contract. “What about the food we made?” Luan wondered.

“When all of you are full, put the leftovers away.” Lynn Sr. replied as he closed the door.

“Well I’m not letting the desserts go to waste.” Lori rushed to the dining room.

“More meat for me.” Lynn Jr. followed suit. With the rest of the siblings eating what's available, Lincoln stopped at Lori and Sam.

“You sure Luna and Lana will convince our parents to enter the race?” He asked.

“They won’t be able to do that on their own.” Sam replied. “We’re also entering as a team.”

“We still have two weeks until the race happens.” Lori added. “We’re gonna take care of this in the morning.”

“We might go somewhere tomorrow morning…but just us, Luna, Lana, and them.” She pointed at Lynn Sr. and Rita’s bedroom door.

“Luna driving us to her favorite places…literally canceled also.”

“Well hopefully things will work out. I’m actually excited to see her and Lana race.” Lincoln entered the dining room.

Lori and Sam made their way to Lynn Sr. and Rita’s bedroom. Lori knocked on their door as they’re allowed inside. With them having a private conversation instead of a family meeting, it became serious of how the truth put them in a state of panic where they don’t want everyone involved with how dangerous racing is.

Chapter 4 Swagger Field Of Classic Cars

The morning after last night’s celebration, Lynn Sr. and Rita took Luna, Lana and Lori to an open field outside of Royal Woods after breakfast. They also picked up Luna’s band, the Moon Goats to cut to the chase right away. Including Shane Loud who got his driver’s licenses last year. Lynn Sr. and Rita agreed to Lori and Sam to reconsider unless they show Luna and Lana on how they felt before they got their driver's licenses even before they got married.

Lynn Sr. is handling the wheel, while Luna sits in the back next to Sam, Lana, and Lori with the others sitting in the way back. She couldn’t even be thrilled with the ruff breakfast she and Lana had before leaving. “Luna, we don’t usually do this, but decades ago, we didn’t have cars that were all that fast.” Rita turned back.

“We may enjoy the sport of racing, but not as much as you Lana.” Lynn Sr. added.

“It’s still a once and a lifetime dream to be in a race.” Lana spoked.

“True, but I’m not believing that Bobbie Fletcher would allow you to participate at a very young age.” Rita added.

“Even my parents wouldn’t allow me to perform on stage until I turned eleven.” Sam said.

“Aren’t you on my side?” Luna blinked.

“Not completely.”

“Luna, we were excited that you got your driver’s license, but racing is the last thing we expected from you.” Shane Loud commented.

“Not to mention it’s better to take us to places in a car rather than riding on one motorcycle that’s for only one person.” Sully added.

“I wanted me and Sam to ride on a motorcycle together.” Luna turned around. “I can drive a car and a motorcycle if I can.”

“You can only pick one vehicle with a budget that works.” Rita said. “Which is why we're going to an open field where most of the old cars we had back then are currently on show.”

“We may have Vanzilla, but it doesn’t change the fact that we had other options for cars.” Lynn Sr. added.

“You can’t have one option when there’s a hundred more cars.” Shane added.

With Luna and Lana listening to everyone inside of Vanzilla, they try to see the point of view of what they really mean. Soon they arrived in the open field where big lines of cars were parked on the grass. Lynn Sr. parked Vanzilla on the grass with everyone coming out.

“This is a car show.” Shane walked up to Luna. “My parents took me to one of them before I got my license.”

“Did it help you find the car you really wanted?” Luna asked.

“A little bit. The point is, cars can have personality and give the person who’s driving it charisma.”

“Racing cars does give you charisma.” Lana chimed in.

“We know.” Mazzy added.

“We’re not here to find you a racing car, we’re never going to do that.” Lynn Sr. retorted.

“We’re giving you a choice before you make a bad one, it’s not that hard.” Rita added.

“Can we just go to the car show to get this over with?” Luna replied. “You're not making me feel like I want to drive an old school car.”

“You will, once you see them.”

The group made their way to one of the entrances of the car show. The row they picked is the cars from the nineteen eighties during Lynn Sr. and Rita’s childhood. From older types before CD players existed along with wood being the exterior and interior detailing, Lynn Sr and Rita childhood memories all are coming back to them.

“Before we got our driver’s license, we always thought of the prestige of fancy cars.” Lynn Sr said.

“There were car accidents back then, but not as many as in the present.” Rita added.

“They’re right. My mother’s car isn’t as fancy as these cars, but she wouldn’t risk getting into a car accident.” Sam commented.

“Also when my dad showed me the cars he wanted, the fancy one with gold tires gave him charisma.” Shane added.

“Too much charisma if you ask me.” Mazzy replied.

“So why can’t we go to the cars with flames on them?” Luna offered. “If I had to pick with style, it wouldn’t hurt to leave an impression.”

“Also.” Lana thought. “You do know that car shows do have race cars right?”

Both Lynn Sr. and Rita flinched knowing they would at least walk past one race car from past decades. “Yes, we know.” Rita replied.

“Can we just think about cars that don’t speed on race tracks?” Lynn Sr. added.

“We would, if you didn’t make us starve last night.” Luna retorted. “I've been dreaming of food car racers because of it.”

“You really had to take their food away?” Rita glared at her husband.

“It turned the celebration into a possible car accident if we found out later.” Lynn Sr. replied.

“Again, I got my driver’s license just last night!” Luna reacted.

Sully and Mazzy covered Luna’s mouth, preventing any attention from everyone from the car show. “How about we go to a row of vans similar to Vanzilla?” Lori offered.

While Lynn Sr. and Rita agreed to Luna’s point, they took the group to the roll of vans made from the seventies and eighties. While they’re decorated on the outside unlike Vanzilla, it still brought back memories in Lynn Sr. and Rita's life.

“We know you’re never buying a van, but without it, we wouldn’t have memories wherever we go.” Lynn Sr. looking at the shine from one of the vans.

“Sacrificing a fancy car was painful in the heart, but we would only have two to three kids riding in the back.” Rita added.

“Not that I would’ve been the lucky one for being the third child.” Luna crossed her arms. “But I’ve only driven Vanzilla three times and they’re all from last night.” She then walked up to the other vans, one of which having flames. “I was focusing on the road and the only gift I got from it…is feeling the wheel whenever I control it.”

“Luna, driving a car isn’t the same as playing guitars.” Sam replied. “If I get that feeling, I’ll be better off becoming a race car driver.”

“That’s the point.” Lana chimed in. “I do like Vanzilla, but when I’m getting my driver’s license at your age, I can’t keep my mind off of racing.”

“So you would rather floor it on the road?” Sully asked.

“I was thinking of doing it on the highway.”

“That’s worse.” Shane commented.

“Luna, when I drove for the first time, it was exciting for a while, but down the line, it’s your responsibility to keep it in control at all times.” Rita replied.

“It’s great you did well last night, but every day from here on out, it’s a different chapter of its own.” Lynn Sr. added. “Secondly…if there was a high speed chase and you’re not the criminal…you could give in.”

Luna sighed after hearing the confession. “That is if I robbed a bank, but I wouldn’t give in.”

“We’re just trying to help.”

“If you were willing to help, you would’ve known how expressive I am.” Luna replied. “I need to be alone, I’m still depressed about last night.” She left the group on her own while getting out of the row of vans, finding another row that interested her.

Lynn Sr. and Rita felt disappointed in their third child’s state of mind. “We seriously need to talk more sense into her.” Rita replied.

“What do you want her to feel?” Lana asked.

“Was it really a good idea to make her feel like this?” Mazzy added.

“We wouldn’t be here if she and you,” Rita pointed at Lana. “had never signed the contract.”

“I also signed the contract.” Sam chimed in. “And a part of me really wants her to succeed.”

“Succeed? As in getting the motorcycle?”

“Yes…”

“This is getting worse and worse.” Shane replied.

“Why can’t we just stick to our original plan?” Lori looked up at the sky.

Luna entered the row of motorcycles. Despite her parents refusing to have her buy a motorcycle, they didn’t say anything about not going to see motorcycles. She can hear people riding them from the otherside of the field even when coming here. Even if she tried to ignore them, it’s only gonna make her want to enter the race more. As if it wasn’t enough that classical vehicles didn’t make her reflect.

“This is hopeless.” She spoked. “I would’ve been excited to be here if I was practicing for the race.” From the end of the row where she came in, her family and band saw her. They were close to catching up to her in concern of almost losing her in the car show. When Luna looked away from the motorcycles, she saw Mick Swagger walking on his own while wearing a purple race car outfit while holding onto a helmet. “Mick Swagger?”

“Luna, love.” He smiled. “What brings you here?”

“My parents took me here to show me what type of car I want.”

“You finally got your driver’s license?” 

“Yes…if I can show you my driver’s license.” When Mick witnesses Luna’s family including Sam and the Moon Goats, it wasn’t hard for him to catch on.

“Did you get yourself into a dangerous car accident?”

“No.” She then closed her eyes while behind honesty with her biggest idol. “Me and my sister Lana entered The Royal Woods Raceway because of a really great motorcycle for a reward. I didn’t tell my parents…until last night when they found out.”

With her excitement turned to emptiness, it still felt good to let it out instead of lying. Mick Swagger believed what she said, but unlike her parents, he wasn't disappointed. If he was, he wouldn’t be here in the first place.

“Luna, love, I want you to know that I admire cars of any type. But I love race cars just as much as singing. I’m close to coming across old school race cars if you want to see some.”

“I can’t, my parents won’t allow me.”

“Including Lana?”

“Yes, she’s a huge fan of racing, especially Bobbie Fletcher.”

This causes Mick to remember his time when he watched Bobbie in person. “I remember watching her races that I attend.” He replied. “Her passion for racing felt the same way as we felt in music.”

“I would’ve seen the passion from her if I actually attended her races.”

“Not everyone’s gonna be a professional race car driver.” He then noticed Lana, still depressed, which caught him on after Luna told him her name. “This is gonna be shocking but, I’m gonna host The Royal Woods Raceway.”

“You are?”

“I’m gonna help Bobbie raise more money for the event. Maybe I could perform after the race is over.”

As if it wasn’t enough for Luna, Mick Swagger hosting the event felt like a dream clashed into Lana’s, which made it hard to enjoy the car show. “What are you trying to help me with?”

“Giving you more heart and passion to convince your parents to have you and your team enter.” He then walked past her, stopping in front of Luna’s family and band. “She’s never having the mindset of a deranged speeder.”

As Rita and Lynn Sr. can tell what the conversation Luna had with Mick, they try to be crystal clear with the famous singer. “Mick.” Rita spoked. “We are gonna see her drive soon, it’s just last night we had a celebration for her getting her license and when we heard about the contract…”

“...we did it for her best interests.” Lynn Sr. finished.

“I don’t blame you, but you know I’m right.” Mick smiled.

“I believe you.” Lana replied with Mick looking down. “You know me and Luna have something in common with famous people like you and Bobbie.”

“I’m sure you do, mate.” Mick turned his attention back to Lynn Sr. and Rita. “What they have in common the most, is making their once in a lifetime dreams come true. Don’t act like you never had dreams coming true.”

Lynn Sr. reflects on opening his own restaurant while Rita reflects on how the Louds helped her husband, despite overwhelming him. Not that they need to help Luna and Lana’s dream if they can handle it on their own but they made up their mind to give them a chance.

“Okay, we’re setting things straight with Luna once we leave.” Rita smiled.

“You mean?” Lana wondered.

“You're not entering yet, we’ll make up our minds once the day’s out.” Lynn Sr. filled in.

“Good deal.” Lori commented.

“Can I still be part of this?” Sam replied.

“You signed the contract, just wait before you support our third oldest daughter.” Rita said.

“You can join us while we’re giving Luna a chance.” Lynn Sr. added. “But it isn’t gonna be like how we view it on Lori and even Leni’s driving.”

Luna walked up behind Mick Swagger as she slowly smiled. “I can prove to you I’m not a reckless driver.”

“You gave the teacher the approval, you show your parents your one and only race car token, love.” Mick then lifted Lana up while wrapping his arm around Luna. “I know you’re gonna join the race. You have two weeks to go.”

With the family and band watching Mick putting Luna and Lana together, it’s only the beginning before Lynn Sr. and Rita give their approval to have them enter the race. However it’s not stopping them from watching Luna drive after getting her driver’s license yesterday. It may be a long day today, but it won’t compare to the next two weeks before the biggest race comes to life.

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Lingwu: Flaming Tiger

Designer's Reflection: Flaming Tiger

Obtained: Blessed Blossoms hell event

Rarity: UR

Attribute: Blue/Cool

Awakened Suit: Leaping Tiger

Story - transcripts from Designer's Reflection

Chapter 1 - Know Someone

Chapter 2 - Rain

Chapter 3 - Flames of War

Chapter 4 - Revisit

Chapter 5 - Anecdotes

Story - summarized

Lingwu was born a white tiger in the mountains outside Yue Prefecture City. When he was a cub, he was attacked by a wolf and nearly died. Thankfully, a monk found him and took him in. For ten years, the two were inseparable. But when the monk died, the tiger was forced to retreat into the mountains, hiding from humans.

But he still did his best to help others, like how the monk helped him. He saved baby birds that fell from their nests, even if the mother birds pecked at him. He tried to help humans gather firewood, even if they threw knives at him. And one night, Lingwu protected a young flower from the heavy rains.

The flower was grateful and asked why Lingwu didn't go to help humans. It even said that once it got to know him, it wasn't scared. This inspired Lingwu to find a way to transform into a human and join the people of Yue Prefecture City.

As a human, he assisted the people in every way he could: carrying groceries, healing them... But when war found its way to the peaceful city, Lingwu was faced with difficult choices - he couldn't save everyone, no matter how hard he tried.

To make things worse, one of the people he helped just went back to battle and became so violent and unhinged that he murdered everyone he saw. Finally, he died from an arrow shot to the heart.

Conflicted, Lingwu left the city and traveled around Cloud. He hoped to learn more about right and wrong, how to help others without harm. But as much as he learned, he got no definitive answer.

He returned to Yue Prefecture City and found a dying man on the road. Lingwu tried to get medical help from the closest clinic, but the family turned him away. The man had broken into their home and attacked them, and they did not want to heal him in case he came back to hurt them again.

Finally, Lingwu was able to get help for the man. But upon remembering the war-crazed man from years ago, he made this man promise to be a better person, or he will be left for dead next time.

The man changed his ways immediately. He made amends best he could with the family's clinic, he donated to the poor, he visited the temple and devoted himself to improvement.

Nowadays, Lingwu watches over the city, sometimes visiting the temple, sometimes snacking on hawthorn balls. But he always strives to do the right thing.

Connections

-Lingwu visits several places in Cloud that we've been to in gacha events: Cloud Capital (New Beginings hell event), Zither River (the Flame Fox Reflection), and Lor River (Northern Melodies hell event).

-Besides our favorite tiger boy, one other person was deeply affected by Cloud War: Qingyue recounts how she lost her father in Moonset.

Fun Facts

-This suit premiered in the CN/TW server during the Year of the Tiger, in 2022. For us in the global server, we got it in 2023, the Year of the Rabbit.

-I'm not sure if this is the correct translation for the name, but "lingwu" can mean "to understand or comprehend." And Lingwu tries his hardest to understand the world, the difference between right and wrong, and how best to help others.

-The temple has a statue of Buddha. This is the first time Shining Nikki has made a direct reference to a religion or person from our world.

[englishindubellay]

ecg 2

Version

Philadelphia has had a curfew for kids and teenagers since the 1950s, but – faced with a second straight year of record homicides and surging violent crime – the city is now doubling down on its efforts to get minors off the streets at night : a new ordinance temporarily expanded the city’s 10 p.m curfew to 16- and 17-year- olds, who could previously be out until midnight.

Philadelphie possède un couvre-feu qui concerne les enfants et les adolescents depuis les années 50 mais, confrontée à deux années consécutives de records d’homicides et d’augmentation de la criminalité violente, la ville redouble à présent d’efforts afin d’écarter les mineurs des rues la nuit : un nouvel arrêté a provisoirement étendu aux jeunes de 16 et 17 ans le couvre-feu de 22 heures alors que ces derniers pouvaient rester dehors jusqu’à minuit précédemment.

Across the country, more local leaders and police are turning to curfews for teenagers in an effort to tamp down violent crime, which has been surging since 2020 .

Partout dans le pays, un nombre toujours plus grand de responsables locaux ainsi que la police mettent en place des couvre-feux dans le but de faire baisser la criminalité violente, criminalité en forte augmentation depuis 2020.

In September, officials in Prince George’s County, began more strictly enforcing a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone under 17 on weekdays in response to Labor Day weekend violence in which four people were killed.

En septembre, des élus dans le comté de Prince George, ont commencé à renforcer l’application du couvre-feu de 22 heures en semaine pour tous les individus âgés de moins de 17 ans en réaction au weekend de violence lors de la fête du travail au cours duquel quatre personnes ont perdu la vie.

« At this point, these kids don’t need a hug : they need to be held accountable, » county executive Angela Alsobrooks declared.

Quand on en est là, ce n’est pas de calinothérapie dont ces gamins ont besoin : il faut qu’ils rendent des comptes, » a déclaré Angela Alsobrooks la chef du comté.

While it may sound like common sense to get kids home and off the streets at night, researchers say that there is no evidence that curfews reduce crime.

Bien que cela apparaissent comme du bon sens d’écarter les enfants de la rue et qu’ils soient à la maison la nuit, les chercheurs disent qu’il n’est pas prouvé que les couvre-feux réduisent la criminalité.

« There are a handful of studies that have been done on juvenile curfews, and unfortunately the overall conclusion is they have little impact, » Dave Myers of the University of New Haven says.

Une poignée d’études ont été réalisées sur les couvre-feux pour les enfants, et malheureusement la conclusion générale est qu’ils ont un impact limité, » explique Dave Myers de l’Université de New Haven.

« They tend to be popular at face value. »

Si l’on regarde les choses sans discernement, c’est une solution très plaît beaucoup.

Thème

Mardi 13 septembre, les unionistes sont venus en nombre recevoir Charles III à Belfast.

On Tulesday, September 13th, Unionists came en masse to greet Charles 3rd in Belfast.

Le besoin de célébrer la monarchie est d’autant plus fort que la communauté unioniste est dans une mauvaise passe.

The need to celebrate the monarchy is all the stronger as the Unionist community is going through a bad patch.

Ici, à Shankill, un quartier protestant de Belfast, en Irlande Du Nord, la reine est plus qu’un symbole : c’est un sujet de lutte.

Here in Shankill, a protestant district of Belfast in Northern Ireland, the Queen is not just a symbol : she is a reason to fight.

Ambiance totalement différente à Falls Road, à quelques centaines de mètres de là.

It is a completely different atmosphere in Falls Road, a few hundred metres away from there.

Dans ce quartier républicain, personne n’est allé voir le « roi britannique », comme on l’appelle.

In this Republican district, no-one went to see the « British King » as he is called.

« C’est un monarque qui vient dans un territoire occupé », commente Jack Mac Siamais, un ancien de l’Armée républicaine irlandaise qui a passé sept années en prison il y a quatre décennies.

« He is a monarch visiting an occupied territory », comments Jack Mac Siamais, a former member of the Irish Republican Army who spent seven years in jail four decades ago.

Voilà presqu’un quart de siècle que les armes se sont tues en Irlande du Nord.

It has been almost a quarter of a century since arms went silent in Northern Ireland.

Elisabeth II avait effectué un profond travail de réconciliation.

Elizabeth 2nd had done a thorough job of reconciliation.

En 2021, elle a visité la République d’Irlande, tout de vert vêtue.

In 2021, she visited the Republic of Ireland, dressed up entirely in green (all dressed up in green)

[michellelovatosbookreviews]

Spiritual Inspiration Map Now Available

I always hoped there was a place I could visit that would inspire me to a better mindset. According to Lori Erickson, there are plenty! Travel writer, Lor Erickson, gives the world a truly inspirational road map in her book Every Step is Home, as she uncovers and presents locations throughout the United States holding special spiritual meaning. This is a cool book and I do know what she means…

[themarjolainehorrorpictureshow]

Les Intrus

Premier volet d’une trilogie, Les Intrus suit un jeune couple (Maya, Madelaine Petsch, et Ryan, Frey Guttierez) qui, lors d’un road-trip en amoureux, tombe en panne et doit s’arrêter dans un village reclus. Ils vont vivre une nuit de terreur en affrontant trois individus masqués, qui sans motif apparent, veulent les tuer.

Véritable ersatz de The Strangers (2008), Les Intrus peine à se démarquer et prendre sa propre ampleur. Ainsi, chaque point clef du premier film est repris : le couple isolé dans la maison, Ryan qui quitte le lieu pendant quelque temps, les intrus à l’intérieur qui suivent Maya sans un bruit, une personne lambda tuée par l’homme qui l’a pris pour un des intrus, les enfants mormons etc. Cependant, le film ne capture jamais la moindre essence de cette reprise et n’insuffle nullement sa propre patte ou sa propre interprétation. Ainsi, Les Intrus se révèle être un vulgaire film de home invasion, qui ne prend aucune initiative et suit le chemin tout tracé par les dizaines de films du genre. À cela, s’ajoute les deux personnages principaux qui sont au mieux fades et qui ne nous poussent pas, nous spectateurs, à avoir un intérêt pour eux et vouloir qu’ils soient sauvés. Évidemment, comme tout bon film d’horreur, ils agissent un peu bêtement et je concède que ce n’est plus un critère pour juger un film d’horreur (qui n’aurait pas lieu si les personnages agissaient de manière raisonnée), mais là, ils sont vraiment bêtes ! Rien ne se dégage de ce couple principal, dont nous savons rien : leur confrontation aux intrus n’en révèle pas plus sur eux.

C’est sûrement là que réside le problème dans Les Intrus : on ne sait rien sur personne et sur les motivations. À savoir que le film est pensé en trilogie, il semble logique d’avoir des éléments qui nous intriguent et maintiennent notre intérêt à voir la suite. Or, ne rien savoir sur les intrus et leur motivation (ou un détail de leur motivation) est très peu engageant. Quand on compare avec The Strangers, effectivement les motivations des intrus n’étaient pas expliquées : dans ce cas, cela n’est pas un problème, car le film ne vit que pour lui-même et dans sa forme nihiliste il témoigne de ces crimes à domicile jamais expliqués. Ici, on veut nous amener au-delà de ce crime unique et obscur pour suivre une final girl (vu la toute fin du film, on semble être amenés sur ce chemin là…) qui va avoir une confrontation avec eux, ce qui défie complètement le postulat de base du film : des crimes violents à domicile, sans raison, arrivent toutes les x temps aux États-Unis, où l’on sort de la collectivité de ces crimes pour entrer dans une individualité peu engageante.

Par ailleurs, un autre problème du film est sa grande absence de sang. Le film détourne facilement les yeux devant toutes les scènes un peu jouissives qui permettraient de remonter un peu le niveau. Là encore, on entre dans cette banalité des sorties horreur au cinéma, où l’on essaie de rester soft pour avoir le PG13. Si au moins une quelconque tension émanait du film, je pourrais passer outre, mais encore une fois le film peine à s’élever et à nous procurer une quelconque émotion. De nouveau, je reviens à The Strangers mais ce qui fonctionnait dans ce film et sortait un peu des carcans du home invasion est ce parallèle entre la crise du couple et l’attaque des intrus. Le couple est dans une crise de couple sévère où Kristen (Liv Tyler) a refusé la demande en mariage de James (Scott Speedman) : ici, le doute envahit leur relation de couple, et les deux sont en prise à des émotions très fortes, clairement bien dépeintes à l’écran. En parallèle, les intrus que nous ne connaîtrons jamais, qui n’ont aucune explication/motivation jouent aussi ce rôle d’envahissement au sens strict du terme, amenant la confusion entre les deux événements et les niveaux de lecture. The Strangers propose d’ailleurs un plan incroyable, avec le plan large de l’intrus suivant Kristen chez elle sans jamais qu’elle s’en rende compte, ce qui est très efficace pour nous spectateurs et nous met mal à l’aise. Là encore Les Intrus cherche à reproduire cela sans jamais élever l’image d’origine ou incorporer un sentiment chez son spectateur. The Strangers : Prey at Night (2018), autre itération du film, reprend la dynamique de crise, mais au niveau familial ce qui fonctionne bien moins. Là, on est sur un couple parfait, sans embûche ce qui ne joue pas avec les lignes et n’élève aucun propos.

Les Intrus est donc le niveau -1 du film d’horreur, ne jouant pas vraiment avec le concept de home invasion en ne proposant pas une lecture autre que celles d’inconnus qui attaquent une maison. La non-discussion autour de ces figures des inconnus nous laisse largement sur notre faim, tout comme le couple principal, qui n’a aucun trait distinctif le rendant intéressant. Du point de vue de l’horreur, outre les innombrables jumpscares, incapables de créer une quelconque tension, le film est très timide sur le sang, l’horreur ou le gore. Il offre des séquences d’action à peu près intéressantes à regarder, mais ne sort jamais des sentiers battus. Les deux prochains volets sont déjà écrits et filmés, ce qui n’annonce rien de bon, car les suites méritent à mon sens un travail de réécriture pour proposer quelque chose d’original ou au moins de jouissif sur l’horreur/la tension.

Les Intrus (The Strangers: Chapiter 1) de Renny Harlin 2024 — 15 mai 2024 en salle en France États-Unis

[jpbjazz]

LÉGENDES DU JAZZ

BOBBY BRADFORD, DROIT DEVANT !

‘’I was never a big high note player but I never wanted to do that anyway. I liked the register that Miles Davis explored but Fats Navarro was one of my favourites. His playing had a kind of continuity I always liked."

- Bobby Bradford

Né le 19 juillet 1934 à Cleveland, au Mississippi, Bobby Lee Bradford avait appris le piano avec sa mère, car il n’existait pas d’école de musique dans la région à l’époque. Après avoir parcouru les États-Unis avec son père à la recherche travail, Bradford s’était installé à Dallas avec sa famille en 1946. C’est à Dallas que Bradford avait découvert le cornet. Bradford expliquait: "There was a guy who lived right across the road from us who played the cornet. He'd sit there and play the cornet and I somehow became fascinated with him. He wasn't playing jazz, just pretty songs. I went over to this guy and said "I can play that!" and he said "Oh, you're kidding!! It takes a lot to play this horn."

Au Mississippi, on entendait beaucoup plus souvent les airs de Perry Como et Bing Crosby que la musique de Benny Goodman ou de Duke Ellington. Une des premières pièces de jazz que Bradford avait apprise était le standard d’Harold Allen "Blues In The Night", car ce morceau n’exigeait d’utiliser que la valve du milieu du cornet, avait-il expliqué plus tard avec humour. Bradford avait ajouté: "All I had to do was be locked up in a room for a while and figure it out."

Même si le bebop était la musique de l’heure à New York à l’époque, le nouveau style n’avait pas encore pénétré à Cleveland qui avait une population d’environ 5000 personnes au milieu des années 1940. On ne pouvait accéder au bebop qu’en écoutant des disques. C’est par l’entremise de musiciens locaux que Bradford avait pu écouter les 78-tours de musiciens comme Dexter Gordon et Fats Navarro. Bradford se souvenait particulièrement d’un blues de douze mesures appelé ‘’Index’’, une pièce qui rappelait un peu "Now's The Time" de Charlie Parker. Certains des camarades de classe de Bradford à la fin des années 1940 étaient devenus par la suite de grands musiciens de jazz, dont James Clay, David "Fathead" Newman et Cedar Walton. Décrivant sa méthode de travail de l’époque, Bradford avait commenté: "Sometimes at the end of the day, we'd all trade ideas about something we'd transcribed off records. At the speed of the 78 record you could keep putting the needle back until you got the part clear. There were no books at the music store about jazz at the time."

Bradford, qui vivait dans le même quartier que le père de T-Bone Walker, habitait aussi à proximité de plusieurs musiciens plus âgés qui se produisaient dans les clubs des environs. Bradford expliquait:

‘’In the community that I lived in, I could hear these guys practicing at home and pass by their places and hear them playing records of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie when I was a fourteen year old. I had heard jazz before because, of course, my father was a big jazz fan. He liked the big bands though. I wasn't particularly taken to jazz and interested in playing with big bands, the swing style. What drew me to the music, to want to play it, when I was inspired to play, was when I heard Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie, and Miles Davis, and Fats Navarro, the beboppers. That is what drew me into the music.’’

Bradford avait entendu pour la première fois du bebop en concert lors d’une prestation du trompettiste Johnny Coles, un futur collaborateur de Mingus qui était venu jouer en ville avec le groupe de Bull ''Moose’' Jackson. À l’époque, Bradford, Walton et Clay jouaient presque entièrement par oreille. Bradford, qui n’avait alors aucune ambition de devenir musicien professionnel, avait expliqué: "I never had any idea that I'd be involved in music as a profession or a career. If you were in a Black middle class family, there was a great deal of emphasis on going to College. In fact sometimes we said jokingly in the Black community "What's your kid going to be? Doctor, Lawyer, Preacher, Teacher." That was the reality of it. Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billy Eckstine were all very visible at that time but we looked at them and thought "Now, that's very special. Not everybody's going to do that..."

Décrivant son intérêt pour le bebop, Bradford avait précisé:

‘’Bebop had, in addition to the vocal quality that all jazz music seems to have as a general statement, the New Orleans' style of Louis Armstrong and the swing era of Lester and Coleman Hawkins and all, but bop had an urgency about it. It was more polyrhythmic and in my ears, it was a more sophisticated music than swing or the New Orleans style, but that would take some talking about because of course people could say that you couldn't be any more sophisticated than Louis Armstrong. But the boppers were, as a general statement, technically more proficient than the swing or New Orleans players. What added to it about the boppers was the new social posture of the beboppers. There was no clowning around. They had that sort of pseudo-intellectual air. That was part of it too. They had their own language and dress code. It was so hip (laughing) for want of a better way to say it.’’

Bradford avait également été marqué par l’émergence du Cool jazz. Il précisait:

‘’I started to play the cornet when I was in tenth grade and bebop was the thing. That would have been around 1949 or '50, when Charlie Parker was at the peak of his powers. That is when I started out trying to play, trying to play like Dizzy and Miles and Fats Navarro and every trumpeter. As I began to get a handle on that, that was right in the middle of course of the coming of the cool jazz thing, especially the big West Coast version of it. And then the Miles Davis thing of 1949, that didn't somehow manifest itself to us in school until over into the Fifties, even though and those guys made that first record (Birth of the Cool) in 1949. At least as far as I was concerned, I didn't really grasp the cool jazz sound of that Miles Davis bunch. I am not talking about here like Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan. The Miles Davis cool jazz session of 1949, that was a big, monster event.’’

Faisant le lien entre le bebop et le Cool, Bradford avait ajouté:

‘’So the West Coast players to me, and I liked a lot of them, Art Pepper, to me, was an interesting mix of Charlie Parker and Lester Young. There is two big routes in bop trumpet. There is the Gillespie route, which you would hook up with somebody like Fats Navarro too, even though they both had their own distinct styles, they both were really powerful trumpet players with super range. Then there is the other camp of players who didn't play so high or so loud and didn't have the range and power. Chet Baker and Miles Davis went the other route, the cooler, more restrained player, but it was still bop. I still see Chet Baker as a bop trumpet player, just more restrained and a softer approach than somebody like Dizzy or like Fats Navarro or like Kenny Dorham.’’ Bradford a étudié au Houston–Tillotson College (maintenant devenue la Houston–Tillotson University) où il a obtenu un baccalauréat en musique.

UNE RENCONTRE CAPITALE

Quelques années plus tard, Bradford avait amorcé une des plus importantes relations professionnelles de sa carrière en faisant la rencontre du saxophoniste Ornette Coleman. Bradford précisait: "In 1952, at Charles Moffett's wedding reception in Texas, Ornette Coleman was the best man. I didn't know Ornette but word was out that there's this guy from Fort Worth who wears his hair real long, he's weird and he plays some pretty far out stuff but that's all we'd heard."

Lors de la réception, Coleman avait participé à une jam session avec le saxophoniste Leo Wright. Lors de la jam session, le répertoire de Tin Pan Alley n’avait pas tardé à être remplacé par ce que Bradford avait appelé "the Ornette Coleman assault." Cet épisode avait joué un rôle capital dans le développement de Bradford, tant sur le plan musical que personnel. Bradford s’était joint au groupe de Coleman en 1953.

Bradford avait connu Coleman à peu près à la même époque où il avait connu Eric Dolphy. Il expliquait:

‘’I had met him in Texas, but not as a musician. He just happened to come to the part of the neighborhood where I lived because he had a close friend there. I knew about him. I didn't really know him. He came to Los Angeles about the same time that I did. We were all around town then playing jam sessions, which included the California Club at Santa Barbara and Western. That used to be a Monday night jam session. We were all running around town and we were all roughly the same age. Ornette is about four or five years older than me and Eric was probably around maybe three or four. Eric had just come back from the army and he was still playing the alto saxophone and the clarinet, which he played in the army. He was still playing everything that he could get from Charlie Parker. He was not playing any free jazz, nothing even close to it {...}. We would meet at these sessions and we would spend days, sometimes we would rehearse at Walter Benton's place because he had a garage with a piano in it. Most of us were interested in transcribing saxophone and trumpet solos from the recordings because that gave you some insight into what some of these guys were playing and how they developed their linear styles. There was no books. There were no schools.’’

À l’époque, l’influence de Charlie Parker était énorme, non seulement sur les saxophonistes, mais également sur l’ensemble des musiciens de jazz. Ça prenait un esprit aussi révolutionnaire et innovateur que celui de Coleman pour rompre avec une influence aussi prépondérante pour se lancer dans une nouvelle direction musicale. Bradford expliquait: "It was clear that he'd already heard Charlie Parker and had embraced, even digested, the articulation of the Bebop style. He was already inspired enough to think he had something to say that should be heard. I didn't understand what Ornette was playing, but I liked it." 

Évoquant le début de sa collaboration avec Coleman, Bradford avait commenté:

‘’Ornette and I having met in Texas, I ran into him one day on the red car, the old trolleys that we used to have here. We renewed our acquaintance. He asked me if I would be interested in going over some of his tunes and playing it. I would go over to his place and we would go over his tunes. The times that I would play with him, we would play a complete three sets of his tunes and the stuff was pretty scary, but he was still playing standards at the time, in addition to the stuff that he was writing.’’

Décrivant la musique de Coleman, Bradford avait ajouté: "Around 1953, Ornette wasn't very adept at precise notation. He had no formal music training, he was what one would call an autodidact. The things he did know, he didn't know them by the name that you call them. He once said to me "Sometimes I will yield to whoever is the strongest voice when we're playing." That kind of thinking made a lot of players nervous."

À l’époque, la structure formelle du jazz était un facteur déterminant dans la création et l’exécution de la plusieurs pièces musicales. En d’autres termes, la structure d’accords formait une sorte de matériel de base pour les musiciens les moins aventureux. Coleman avait dit à Bradford: "I don't want to do that. I want to be creative so that I can follow my impulses." Bradford avait éventuellement fini par comprendre que son approche de la musique exigeait un parfait contrôle de son instrument. Malheureusement, à l’exception des albums ‘’Science Fiction’’ et ‘’Broken Shadows’’ publiés dans les années 1970, on n’a rerouvé aucun enregistrement de la collaboration de Bradford avec Coleman. Convaincu que Coleman avait conservé certains de leurs enregistrements, Bradford avait ajouté:

"He had tapes everywhere. There was one occasion where we recorded a piece of his called "The Sun Suite" at UCLA Berkeley with about 20 musicians from the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, me and Dewey Redman, Charlie Haden and Ed Blackwell. There was also one occasion where we played at the Jazz Gallery, in the 1960s. Ornette had tons of recordings, he never threw anything out."

Bradford avait quitté le groupe de Coleman après avoir été mobilisé par l’armée américaine dans le cadre de la guerre de Corée. C’est Don Cherry qui l’avait remplacé avec le groupe de Coleman. Après s’être produit avec des groupes militaires de septtembre 1954 à octobre 1958, Bradford avait de nouveau rejoint le quartet de Coleman en 1961. Même si le groupe s’était très peu produit en public, Bradford avait enregistré avec Coleman dans le cadre de son contrat avec Atlantic. Malheureusement, ces enregistrements avaient fait partie des bandes qui avaient été détruites dans l’incendie des voûtes de la maison de disques.

Décrivant la seconde étape de sa collaboration avec Coleman, Bradford avait déclaré:

‘’When I went to New York to play with Ornette Coleman, I had spent already three or four years in military bands during the end of the Korean conflict. I was in the service at that period and I played in military bands. If we had jazz bands, which we did, the guys in there were mostly playing bebop. There was nobody playing free jazz. I had played with Ornette, here in Los Angeles and had been exposed to that new concept as early as 1952. Getting a handle on that was no easy task because there was only so many places you could play like that. There were only so many people trying to work that out with you. So when I came back out of the military, I went back to college and Ornette, I suppose, had remembered that I had played with him here in Los Angeles and I understood on some level what it was he was doing and had been toying with that too when I was in the military, but still playing bop tunes. We had jazz bands that traveled around and entertained the rest of the troops and we were basically still playing the music of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and the beboppers, although, I was still pursuing this concept of trying to play melodic lines without referring to chord progressions. So I rejoined Ornette Coleman in New York in 1961.’’

Lorsque Bradford avait quitté le groupe de Coleman en 1963 pour retourner sur la Côte ouest et poursuivre ses études musicales, c’est Freddie Hubbard qui avait assuré sa relève.

UNE NOUVELLE APPROCHE

C’est également Coleman qui avait présenté Bradford au multi-instrumentiste John Carter. Même s’ils avaient tous deux grandi au Texas, Bradford et Carter ne se connaissaient pas personnellement. Jeune musicien prodige de seize ans, Carter s’était installé plus tard à Los Angeles avec sa famille pour trouver du travail. Lorsque Carter et Bradford s’étaient rencontrés en 1967, ils s’étaient parfaitement bien entendus, tant sur le plan musical que personnel. Seule note discordante, les deux musiciens n’avaient pas été d’accord au début sur la direction à donner à leur musique. Si Bradford préférait conserver quelques standards dans son répertoire comme ceux de son idole Thelonious Monk, Carter, qui était l’aîné de Bradford par quelques années, avait insisté pour que leur matériel soit exclusivement constitué de compositions originales. Bradford expliquait: "We were kind of at odds about that initially but it was a healthy kind of conflict."

Même si Bradford et Carter étaient parvenus à régler leurs différends, les choses n’avaient pas été aussi faciles lors de la formation de la section rythmique. Finalement, Bradford et Carter s’étaient entendus pour engager le contrebassiste Tom Williamson et le batteur Bruz Freeman. Décrivant les débuts de sa collaboration avec Carter, Bradford avait commenté:

‘’I had come here after leaving the Ornette Coleman band in 1963. I was living out in the Pomona area and John {Carter} had been teaching here in the city schools. He was mostly playing alto then, although he was originally and always a clarinet player. The jazz thing, he was playing mostly alto. He and Ornette were still in touch and for some reason came to Los Angeles and John was saying how he was thinking about organizing a band here and he would like to hook up with guys that were interested in similar things and so Ornette told him to call me. Finally, John called me and we had a meeting and decided to organize a band. That was the beginning of the New Art Jazz Ensemble. We used to rehearse Tuesday and Thursday nights for ages we did before we ever got our first job. We had been rehearsing for probably a year. We got our first job at a little place called the Century City Playhouse. There was no money involved, but we were playing our own music, either written by me or written by John. We kept that group together until about 1970, '71.’’

Cependant, lorsque le groupe s’était rendu à Los Angeles pour rencontrer les propriétaires de clubs, les choses ne n’étaient pas très bien déroulées. La majorité des musiciens de jazz étant originaires de New York, le free jazz avait mis du temps à percer sur la Côte ouest, qui était encore largement dominée par le bebop. Los Angeles n’avait jamais été une aussi grande pépinière de talents que New York. Carter et Bradford avaient finalement vu poindre la lumière au bout du tunnel lorsqu’ils avaient été invités par le propriétaire-batteur Shelly Manne à venir se produire au Shelley's Manne Hole dans le cadre du mois de l’Histoire des Noirs. Le moment était particulièrement bien choisi, puisqu’à l’époque le groupe jouait avec une complicité et une cohésion exceptionnelles. Même si tous les membres du groupe occupaient un autre emploi durant la journée, ils étaient prêts à se consacrer pleinement à leur musique et à faire les sacrifices nécessaires pour obtenir du succès.

Parallèlement à la publication en 1969 de leur album ‘’Seeking (Revelation)’’, Bradford et Carter avaient enregistré deux albums particulièrement créatifs pour la maison de disques Flying Dutchman de Bob Thiele, intitulés respectivement ‘’Self-Determination Music’’ et ‘’Flight For Four.’’ Thiele, dont les légendaires albums avec John Coltrane sous étiquette Impulse étaient désormais loin derrière, s’était rendu sur la Côte ouest pour découvrir de nouvelles approches. Des musiciens comme Horace Tapscott et Arthur Blythe avaient suscité l’intérêt de Thiele, tout comme Bradford et Carter.

Après une brève audition dans la résidence du contrebassiste Wilbur Morris, Thiele avait proposé au duo d’enregistrer un album. Le résultat de cet exercice peut être entendu sur l’album de 1969 ‘’Flight For Four.’’ Le disque, qui comprenait quatre compositions de Carter et une de Bradford, avait donné lieu à l’émergence d’une toute nouvelle conception musicale. Influencé par les enregistrements d’Ornette Coleman de la fin des années 1950 et du début des années 1960, l’album, formé de compositions complexes, avait cependant accordé plus de place aux solos que les albums de Coleman. Carter, qui jouait toujours de la clarinette et du saxophone alto et ténor à l’époque, avait donné plus de profondeur à l’album, tandis que le jeu de Bradford à la trompette avait offert une plus grande pénétration que la trompette de poche de Don Cherry.

Décrivant sa collaboration avec Thiele, Bradford avait expliqué:

‘’Bob Thiele came to Los Angeles, apparently trying to see what was happening and we auditioned for him and we did two records for Flying Dutchman in 1970 and '71. At that point, we thought that we were getting such good reviews from this and this is going to take off. Nothing happened. We got jazz record of the year in Japan and got five stars in this magazine and four and a half in that one and we thought that this was it and we were on our way. Everything went right back to where it was. Bob Thiele told us that if we were to get anything more done than we were doing now, we should move to New York and neither of us were willing to do that. I had already been to New York with Ornette and it was clear to me that I did not want to go back there with my family and try to make a living playing jazz. I didn't want to do it and John had never been there working and he didn't want to break up housekeeping here with a wife and four kids. We just thought we would stay here and make something happen for ourselves. Nothing did and we were playing around town, but we couldn't play Howard Rumsey. They kept saying how they liked how we played and all, but no one was going to come here and hear that.’’

Comme Bradford l’avait expliqué plus tard, les choses étaient en train se mettre en place pour le groupe. Bradford avait commenté:

"We were getting good reviews, including the Japanese magazine Swing Journal, but couldn't get a job booked, including in Japan. Bob Thiele said to us "You're going to have to move to New York." John and I had to sit down and do some real soul searching about that. At that point we both had three kids each and a regular day job. In fact later, we experienced some ambivalence about whether or not that was the right move, to stay in LA. But I look back on it now and think that if either of us had moved to New York it would've been a big mistake."

Peu après, Bradford s’était rendu en Grande-Bretagne pour la première fois de sa carrière dans le cadre d’un voyage éducatif qui lui avait permis de collaborer avec le le Spontaneous Music Ensemble du batteur anglais John Stevens. Déjà familier avec la musique de Coleman et d’Albert Ayler, Stevens se trouvait dans une position idéale pour se joindre au groupe de Bradford, dont l’approche de l’improvisation et la capacité d’écoute se situaient à l’avant-plan. Présenté à Stevens par l’écrivain britannique Richard Williams, Bradford avait pris du temps à apprivoiser le très peu conventionnel Stevens. Bradford expliquait:

‘’On some level he was just a lunatic but he was a beautiful human being and a wonderful, wonderful creative artist. On the second trip, John introduced me to Martin Davidson who helped organise a tour in Germany, Holland and France at Le Chat qui peche where we played for five or six nights. From that we made the album Love's Dream on Emanem. We'd also played a few times at the Little Theatre in London and in the big ensemble Keith Tippett had called the Centipede."

Dans le cadre de sa collaboration avec Stevens, Bradford avait mis sur pied un groupe tout à fait nouveau composé de musiciens britanniques qui étaient reconnus pour leur habileté à écouter et à exécuter sa vision. Même s’ils provenaient d’univers complètement différents de ceux de Bradford et Carter, le saxophoniste Trevor Watts et le batteur John Stevens avaient compris leurs conceptions musicales et s’étaient découverts de nouvelles qualités expressives. Le jeu de Stevens sur la pièce ‘’Love's Dream’’ était un parfait exemple de la façon dont un batteur pouvait reconfigurer radicalement la dynamique d’un groupe, plus particulièrement dans un contexte de free jazz qui exigeait une écoute constante et une énorme capacité d’adaptation. Bradford précisait:

"Use this material as a kind of spring board," is what I used to tell them, "I want to hear what you want to play, not what I want you to play" which is something Ornette Coleman had said to me years before. Free jazz forces the player to be more resourceful...we're taking another tributary which means you don't have the safety net of sticking to the format of the tune. You have to be more resourceful in creating a direction for the solos. You have to find a place to go, tonally."

En 1973, Bradford avait aussi fait partie du groupe “Black Music Infinity” de Stanley Crouch, qui était formé notamment du saxophoniste alto et soprano Black Arthur Blythe. Par la suite, le groupe avait été élargi pour inclure de jeunes musiciens comme David Murray, Walter Lowe et Mark Dresser. Même si Bradford avait exercé une énorme influence sur les jeunes musiciens du groupe, il les avait toujours traités comme ses égaux.

L’approche de Bradford de l’improvisation se situait à l’opposé de celle de la plupart des autres trompettistes qui avaient souvent tendance à croire qu’ils avaient besoin de couvrir tous les registres imaginables et qu’ils étaient forcément en compétition les uns avec les autres. L’approche d’improvisation de Bradford était aussi plus patiente et moins spectaculaire, un peu comme celle de Steve Lacy au saxophone soprano. Même si le free jazz avait toujours représenté un défi particulièrement exigeant pour les trompettistes, Bradford était resté concentré et avait livré des performances souvent étonnantes. Bradford expliquait:

"I do play in little cells and sequences. Intervallic relations are very important to me as opposed to thinking about what note I could play out of a particular chord that's coming up. I was never a big high note player but I never wanted to do that anyway. I liked the register that Miles Davis explored but Fats Navarro was one of my favourites. His playing had a kind of continuity I always liked."

Le meilleur de Bradford était cependant à venir. De nouveau réuni à Carter dans le cadre de performances en concert de 1979 à 1982, Bradford avait enregristré l’album ‘’Tandem’’, un album double dans lequel il avait démontré toute sa virtuosité. À l’époque, Carter s’était concentré à l’époque presque exclusivement sur la clarinette. La musique du duo était alors une combinaison d’improvisation pure et de musique écrite.

Le fait de voyager en tournée avec un quartet étant plutôt dispendieux, Bradford et Carter avaient joué en duo et avaient pratiqué leurs compositions de la même façon qu’ils le faisaient avec leur quartet. Bradford avait d’ailleurs décrit la pièce ‘’Tandem’’ comme étant particulièrement inorthodoxe et difficile à jouer. Évidemment, certains critiques plutôt conservateurs avaient remis en question le fait qu’une telle pièce puisse être considérée comme du jazz. Chef-d’oeuvre de musique improvisée, la pièce ‘’Tandem’’ était en partie humoristique, en partie impie et en partie conflictuelle. La pièce avait permis à Bradford et Carter d’atteindre de nouveaux sommets de virtuosité et de précision musicales. Bradford commentait: "When you play in that format you're telling the listener "I'm trying to get your ear here." In the absence of a rhythm section, all these big open spaces have to be dealt with. The piece itself and your own imagination and your awareness of what was happening helped you learn more about your instrument and each other."

En fait, Bradford et Carter avaient commencé à explorer la même forme de musique que certains compositeurs européens comme le compositeur italien Luciano Berio.

ÉVOLUTION RÉCENTE

John Carter est mort en mars 1991 à l’âge de soixante et un ans. Après la mort de Carter, Bradford avait formé un groupe appelé The Mo'tet.

Sept mois après la mort de Carter, Bradford avait collaboré avec le saxophoniste David Murray, dans le cadre de l’enregistrement de l’album ‘’Death Of A Sideman.’’ Bradford connaissait déjà Murray pour lui avoir enseigné en 1974 au Pomona College de Claremont, en Californie.

La performance de Bradford sur l’album peut être considérée comme un des meilleurs enregistrements du trompettiste à la fois comme compositeur que comme soliste. Même si un portrait de Carter figurait sur la pochette intérieure du disque, Bradford avait tenu à préciser qu’il ne s’agissait pas d’un album-hommage, mais plutôt d’un album qui avait coïncidé avec le décès de Carter et l’évolution de ses propres idées musicales. Lisa Tefo écrivait dans les notes de pochette de l’album: "A lot of people thought there was something sad about that record and obliquely, there was some reference to John Carter but I'd been working on that music for some time. It was a serious documentation... and I'm glad we did it." Citant les paroles du compositeur italien Luciano Berio, Tefo avait commenté: "The work stops, it doesn't end".

Bradford s’est produit avec de nombreux musiciens de jazz au cours de sa carrière, dont Ornette Coleman, John Carter, Eric Dolphy, Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, Ingebrigt Håker-Flaten, Bob Stewart, Charlie Haden, George Lewis (trombone), James Newton, Frode Gjerstad, Vinny Golia, Paal Nilssen-Love, et David Murray.

Communicateur naturel, Bradford avait été professeur durant quarante-quatre ans au Pomona College de Claremont, en Californie, où il a enseigné l’histoire du jazz et dirigé le groupe de jazz de l’école. Bradford avait aussi enseigné au Pasadena City College à Pasadena, en Californie. Bradford avait pris sa retraite de l’enseignement en juin 2021. Dans le cadre de son groupe Mo’Tet, Bradford avait également servi de mentor à plusieurs jeunes musiciens de la région du bassin de Los Angeles.

Lauréat de nombreux prix, Bradford a été le second récipiendaire du Festival of New Trumpet Music’s Award en octobre 2009. Un peu comme Lester Bowie, Bradford avait incorporé la musique de Louis Armstrong dans ses créations. Comme Sonny Rollins, Jean-Sébastien Bach et Ornette Coleman, Bradford avait également un grand intérêt pour les séquences musicales, à la fois dans ses compositions et ses improvisations. Bradford est le père de la chanteuse de jazz Carmen Bradford.

©-2024, tous droits réservés, Les Productions de l’Imaginaire historique

SOURCES:

‘’A Fireside Chat with Bobby Bradford.’’ JazzSkool.org, 2024.

‘’Bobby Bradford.’’ Wikipedia, 2024.

‘’Bobby Bradford.’’ All About Jazz, 2024.

‘’Bobby Bradford: Musician, Educator, Survivor.’’ All About Jazz, 2024.

[theroyalthrones]

Behind the Scenes | Vandeleur HQ |Capri, Orillia

beginning | previous | next

Transcript Under the Cut

LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI Who knew there could ever be too much demin? KAINALU ALANA It was your idea for a demin centered collection, lorraine. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI Well who doesn't love demin? KAINALU ALANA Most people love demin, that wasn't what I was saying. But I do like the darker denim more LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI It was a great idea, you have to admit that. The dark does bring out the structure. KAINALU ALANA This is a summer collection though… (FOR THE PAST FEW LINES OF DIALOUGE THE WORDS WHERE FADING TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE THEY WERE TALKING FOR A WHILE) KAINALU ALANA This is what we've come with Virgil. ROMILLY MERCIER The final touches are complete. This is amazing! VIRGILIO GRECO (HEAD OF TEXTILES) Your marvelous brains create beautiful things. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI We know each other quite well. (Stares at him) Anyway I'm starving!Why don't we celebrate a little. KAINALU ALANA Aren't you tired Lor- LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI Dinner on us! EVERYONE Cheers Scene change to a resturant that is gorgeous and no one else is inside other than them and the team. Photos of everyone having a great time. Particularly lorraine who indulges her self too much. And Kai who watches over her. LORRAINE GETS UP AND ANOUNCES ANOTHER ROUND, KAI SCOOPS HER UP AT TAKES HER TO HER CAR. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI Another road please! KAINALU ALANA No I think you've had enough. Say bye. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI But I don't want to go yet. NOW OUTSIDE SHE STUMBLES A BIT. THEN THEY'RE IN A CLOSE UP POSITION. MAYBE SHE LEANS IN AND WHISPERS IN HIS EAR. SOMEONE POSSIBLY TAKES A PICTURE OF THEM, NOT FOR PAPARASSI BUT FOR KAIS FAMILY. KAINALU ALANA Hey! I got you, don't worry. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI whispers Is it wrong to ask how badly do you want me? LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI laughs You're cute when you blush KAINALU ALANA Don't you know what you're doing to me? LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI Maybe. KAI PUTS HER IN THE CAR. SHE LOOKS UP AT HIM WHILE HE STANDS OUTSIDE. DOOR OPEN. SHE LOOKS REALLY ADORABLE WHILE SHE'S DRUNK LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI You're not coming with me? i promise you won’t regret it. KAINALU ALANA I might not, but you would in the morning. LORRAINE DE'CREMONESI But- KAINALU ALANA Mr. Madden, please get her home safely.

[deancodedinthewater]

Hook Man Part 1

The Road So Far

"Take your brother outside as fast as you can! Don’t look back!" He yelled. "Now Dee go!" And Deanna ran. She hugged Sammy as close to her as she could and sprinted as the house behind them exploded.

-

Dean rubbed at his face. “Look,” he said. “I told you I was out of action for surgery.” Sam nodded. “I had top surgery.”

-

"Dad's on a hunting trip," Dean said. "And he hasn't been home in a few days."

-

“Maybe,” Dean agreed with the first word he had spoken in hours. He knew exactly how Lucas felt. Watching a parent die wasn’t something you got over easily. Especially not that young.

-

"I swore I was done hunting. For good."

-

“Cops are blaming this Deanna Winchester person  for Emily’s murder,” Sam said and Dean laughed.

“Never been more glad to have not changed my name legally,” Dean said, still laughing. “Now my deadname is actually dead.”

-

“Why’d you let me sleep?” He asked.

“Cause I’m an awesome brother,” Dean said, flipping pieces of paper over on the table without looking over. “So what did you dream about?”

“Lollipops and candy canes,” Sam snarked.

-

“You know what?” Dean said, wiggling his pen between his fingers and glaring at Sam. “I’m sick of this attitude. You don’t think I want to find Dad as much as you do?”

“Yeah, I know you do, it’s just-”

“I’m the one that’s been with him almost everyday for the past two years,” Dean kept talking as if Sam hadn’t spoken. “While you’ve been off to college going to pep rallies.” Dean dropped his hands to the table. “We will find Dad, but until then, we’re gonna kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?”

-

Now

Lori pulled her top on and then spun around to her roommate for an opinion. The look on Taylor’s face made her question her outfit decision. “What?” She asked. “What’s wrong with it?”

“You look like a preacher’s daughter, Lori,” Taylor replied, standing and walking to her own dresser. For a moment she routed through it before pulling out a top that would make Lori’s Dad faint if he ever saw her in it. Red and lacey and basically underwear. “Here. Wear this.” Taylor threw it at her.

“You sure?” Lori asked, blushing as she held the top up.

“Lor, branch out a little,” Taylor told her. “You will look incredible in that.” Lori nodded and went back into their closet to change. When she came back out she did a little twirl for Taylor. “Better?”

“Better,” Taylor replied. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Lori laughed as she pulled the door open. “There’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” she replied.

As the door swung shut she heard Taylor say “That’s true.”

When she got downstairs, Rich was already waiting by his car. She greeted him with a kiss and got in. Rich drove for a while and then he pulled over in a little side road. Lori looked around, confused.

“I thought we were going to the party?” She asked, turning to her boyfriend.

Rich gave her a crooked smile. “Well, we can't arrive on time,” he said, leaning over the centre console towards her.

“You know,” Lori said, a teasing lilt to her voice. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you brought me here on purpose.”

“What?” Rich said, feigning shock as he leant away with a hand on his chest. “I’m offended.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Lori replied, sarcastically. She smiled as Rich leant back across and kissed her. She kissed back but before they got very far her phone rang. Reluctantly she pulled away and looked at her phone. Dad.

“You wanna get that?” Rich asked.

“Definitely not,” Lori said as she put her phone on silent and dropped it. She reached across the car and pulled Rich back in, to resume kissing. Rich let his hand wander up her arm and Lori shivered. When Rich slipped his hand under the halter neck of her top she pulled away.

“No,” she said, removing his hand.

“It’s okay,” Rich replied and Lori’s forehead pinched in discomfort. Rich moved his mouth to her neck and his hand slipped back under the strap. Lori pulled away.

“Hey, I mean it,” she said. “No.”

As she spoke there was a loud screech of metal on metal outside. Both of them froze in place.

“What was that?” Lori asked in a whisper as she tried to see through the fogged up rear windows.

“I don’t know,” Rich replied in an equally quiet voice. The same sound rang out in the quiet as he spoke and they both flinched. Rich turned to the door handle. “What is that?” he asked as he opened the door.

“No, Rich!” Lori called after him, reaching a hand out to try and stop him but he was already gone. “No.”

Rich turned back to her through the open door. “No, just,” he said. “Just wait here.” he shut the door and Lori tracked him around the car. Rich turned as another high screech of metal pierced the air and he watched something on the car. Something Lori couldn’t see. “What the hell?” he yelled.

“Rich, let’s go!” Lori yelled. There was a loud bang as one of the rear tyres popped and Lori screamed. “Rich!” He’s not outside. He’s gone. In a panic Lori wound the front windows up and locked the doors.

“Rich where are you?” Lori called out, trying to see outside but it was dark. Too dark to see much. There was a bang on the roof and something scratching. Lori screamed and scrambled into the back seat where she huddled on the floor.

The noise stopped but Lori stayed where she was, breath coming out in terrified gasps.

“Okay, okay,” she muttered to herself. “You’re okay. It’s fine.” She reached for the bolt on the backdoor and pulled it before opening the door and climbing out. Once free of the car she started running back down the road. Long scratches on the road sign stopped her in her tracks and she turned. Rich was hanging suspended from a tree, upside down. His fingers scraped across the roof of the car. Lori screamed.

-

Sam stood at a payphone with the receiver to his ear. He nodded as he listened to the person on the other end. “Alright,” he said. “Thank you for your time.” He hung up and walked back to the table Dean had claimed for them at the outdoor cafe.

“Your, uh half-caf, double vanilla latte is getting cold over here, Francis,” Dean said looking up from Sam’s laptop.

“Bite me,” Sam said as he sat down and picked the drink up.

“So, anything?” Dean asked, eyes back on the screen.

Sam shook his head. “I had ‘em check the FBI’s Missing Persons Data Bank,” he explained, taking a sip and leaning back in his chair. “No John Doe’s fitting Dad’s description. I even ran his plates for traffic violations.”

“Sam, I’m telling you, I don’t think Dad wants to be found,” Dean said and Sam tried to hide his disappointment. Dean didn’t seem to notice. “Check this out.” Dean turned the laptop around so Sam could see what was on the screen. “It’s a news item out of Planes Courier. Ankeny, Iowa. It’s only about a hundred miles from here.”

Eyeing his brother and then the article, Sam started reading. “‘The mutilated body was found near the victim’s cae, parked on 9 Mile Road.” Dean rolled his hand and Sam rolled his eyes. He kept reading. “‘Authorities are unable to provide a realistic description of the killer. The sole eyewitness, whose name has been withheld, is quoted as saying the attacker was invisible.’”

Dean half shrugged. “Could be something interesting,” he said, twisting his ring around his finger.

“Or,” Sam said, closing his laptop. “It could be nothing at all. One freaked out witness who didn’t see anything?” He threw his free hand out to the side following it with his eyes. “Doesn’t mean it’s the invisible man.”

“But what if it is?” Dean asked, leaning forwards as he spread his arms wide. “Dad would check it out.”

“Fine, Dean,” Sam relented. “We’ll check it out.”

“Awesome.”

-

The drive took just over an hour with Dean at the wheel. Dean pulled up outside of a fraternity that he had found out was where this Rich guy had lived and they got out. The car doors slammed simultaneously.

“One more time,” Sam said as they walked over to the building. “Why are we here?”

“Victim lived here.” Dean got distracted by a group of guys fixing a car. The guys, greasy and bent over, were nice to look at but the car held Dean’s attention longer. “Nice wheels,” he said to them and they all gave him odd looks. “We’re your fraternity brothers. From Ohio.” They still looked confused so Dean kept talking. “We’re new in town. Transfers. Looking for a place to stay.” Dean gave them a grin, halfway to flirting.

One of them straightened up and waved a hand for them to follow him. He led them upstairs to one of the rooms and told them that this was the only room with any free space at the minute. Sam knocked on the ajar door and it swung open, revealing a shirtless guy. Dean grinned again.

“Who are you?” The frat boy asked, pausing the paintbrush he was using to paint himself purple.

“We’re your new roommates,” Dean answered, walking into the room still grinning.

The boy held out his paintbrush to Dean. “Do me a favour then,” he said, offering the paint as well. “Get my back. Big game today.”

Dean points at Sam with his thumb. “He’s the artist, things he can do with a brush,” he said and Sam gave him a horrified look. He accepted the paint as Dean sat down in a chair and grabbed a nearby magazine with a little white name label stuck on the front. “So, Murph,” he said as he read the name. “Is it true?”

“What?” Murph asked, turning away so Sam could reach his back. Dean’s eyes raked down his back. Sam gave him a disgruntled look. Dean just grinned.

“We heard one of the guys around here got killed last week.”

Murph’s shoulders sagged. “Yeah,” he breathed. 

“What happened?” Sam asked as he swiped the brush across Murph’s back.

“They’re saying some psycho with a knife,” Murph explained, turning his head so he could look over his shoulder at them. “Maybe a drifter passing through. Rich was a good guy.”

“Rich was with somebody?” Sam asked.

“Not just somebody,” Murph said. “Lori Sorensen.”

“Who’s Lori Sorensen?” Dean asked before he pointed to a spot on Murph’s back, just above the waistband of his yellow shorts. “You missed a spot. Just down there.” Sam glared at him and Dean grinned right back.

“Lori’s a freshman. She’s a local,” Murph said, twisting until he could see Dean and forcing Sam to follow him. “Super hot. And get this: she’s a reverend’s daughter.”

“You wouldn’t happen to know which church, would you?” Dean asked as he shared a look with Sam over Murph’s shoulder.

Masterpost

[coochie-sniffer3000]

you are all DELUDED 😭😭 im going thru all of these with my opinions bc im RIGHT /j

meta knight at 400% prefers tea over coffee. hes a complete tea connoisseur, knows everything about tea remedies, can make the perfect blend out of anything. he has a cupboard dedicated to fancy tea-making contraptions and all the little tools that solves problems in tea brewing you didn’t even know existed. like, forty different tea sets and even more standalone glasses and teapots. he gets offended when you offer to make him a cup and return with a little mug of hot water and a trader joes green tea bag. and when hes on missions, he’ll horf down lizard jerky and mend his wounds with plants, but he’d NEVER drink a mediocre cup of herbal tea.

king dedede is a hard call.. i think he’d say it depends on the meal its served with. a coffee alone never hurt anyone, but he’d say without a pump of caramel and creamer and a few scones, it wouldn’t deserve an argument. then, for tea, you need some kind of dessert like a slice of cake or pie, or a nice pavlova. then the aesthetic portion (hmo hes a king he would worry abt this..) where tea you’d have on a sunny day behind a lacey tablecloth, and a coffee you’d have on a cold day (rain, probably) when you’re cooped or on the go. i guess it just depends on where he is or what he’s doing.

magolor daroach and susie i think are all same story, all of them doing similar things for different reasons. daroach is always on the go, hopping from place to place, so a coffee is what he’d grab and down just because its more available. magolor is always stuck manning magoland or even cooped up in the lor for work, so caffeine is good for the energy. for the both of them i think theyd prefer tea, for the leisure associations they have with it, but their tastes are extremely different. then finally, susie will take both as long as they’re way oversweetened; she brings coffee (a frappe) into the office more often because its more business chic but will treat herself to some kind of iced fruity tea or something with boba pearls every so often. still favors coffee though, probably—i think she’d see them the same way, but like the caffeine more.

my vote goes to dark meta knight, pre warning to how painfully obvious i make this. i think he’d prefer coffee to tea, not because he likes coffee all that much but because he just LOATHES tea. unafraid to call it grass water, often does! thinks its the ultimate sissy drink, with its dainty preparation and cutesy herbal flavors. in all honesty, hes just looking for things to bash to feed into his ego, so he ends up having a lot of these unusual, higher than life opinions. in turn, he becomes a coffee superfan in defense of just how unusually deep his hate for tea runs for literally no reason. says he also likes the caffeine. can’t list any other reasons.

shadow kirby… i don’t really know why hes listed here, too young to acquire tastes for either, but definitely has a little bitch in their ear (dmk) telling them that tea is the grossest. get on git, little boy, scurry home

the 0.5 votes for taranza is well placed, but for galacta knight, i think it deserves a word or two. he existed in a time before coffee did, so theyve never had any. theyve since forgotten the taste of tea. you cant apply much of anything to poor galacta knight. sad, but true.

escargoon… im drawing a blank. i’ve been writing for WAY too long so now im brain tired. on days like these, i empathize with him. but if i were to at least TRY, though, i think he’d prefer tea. something he grew up seeing mom drink, so he became just the same way. a hot cup of tea makes him think of home on sunny days, when mom would buy a glass of pre-made sweet tea for herself, later learning its better to just buy two so he can have one himself rather than ask for sips as often as he dared. he thinks of her rickety car and the bumpy road home. he thinks of sitting in the open back with tied up furniture, mom yelling at him every once in a while to watch his feet. 

as a bonus, and in addition to escargoon, i wrote a little something for anime meta knight. i feel hes pretty different from his game counterpart (that’s y im writing for him at all lol) especially with their super different circumstances. his tea cabinet would be much more humble. hand-me-down china and old tools. souvenir nick nacks he still remembers how to use. LOTS of foreign flavors from different planets, well preserved by yours truly. all of his supplies are stocked away in the kings grody castle, in one of his identical kitchen cabinets, but he makes a grand spanking cup of tea anyway. holds the same passion for tea as his game twin, but years of humble living whittled away at it pretty noticeably. 

thank u for reading so so so much btw i had a lot of fun writing and im happy u care :)!!! i’ve been writing for about 2 days now (a lot longer than i thought allat would take) but there is something else i’d like to say, just 1 last thing. im a little annoyed with how easily meta knight tends to sweep in every poll i come across. no, meta knight wouldn’t excel in baking, it doesn’t suit him at all. i thought we agreed he was banned from the kitchen. you don’t have to go on a speil like i did to express that, but if you’re reading this, could you put a little more thought into the characters who aren’t really fan faves? be the change you want to see in the world! even if that’s for kirby fandom lmaoo

Bonus Poll! :D

One of mod's friends came up with this topic! It was super fun to think about, so it's becoming a poll now ^-^

All options are based on what mod's friends responded with! :3

*It doesn't have to be plain coffee! They can add sugar and creamer if that affects your choice :3